April 9, 2025

The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Santa Monica City Files Lawsuit Against Crash-Pilot’s Heirs

The city of Santa Monica has filed a negligence suit against the heirs of the pilot of a small plane that crashed into the local airport and killed four people two years ago.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court against the estate of Mark Benjamin as well as the Cessna 525A Citation’s owner, CREX-MML LLC. The suit seeks more than $54,000 in cleanup costs stemming from the crash.

According to the lawsuit, the city’s expenses related to the accident included removing plane debris from the runway, securing the site until the Santa Monica Fire Department finished its investigation and the conducting of testing to see whether hydrocarbons from the plane and chemicals from the fire suppressant foam seeped into the soil.

The suit alleges Benjamin negligently landed the aircraft by veering to the right side of the runway and striking some objects before hitting a hangar.

The complaint further alleges that the estate did not respond to a creditor’s claim filed April 17.

Robert Given, the personal representative of the Benjamin estate, could not be immediately reached.

Killed in the Sept. 29, 2013, crash were Benjamin, 63, the president of a Santa Monica-based construction company; his son Lucas, 28; Lucas Benjamin’s girlfriend, 28-year-old Lauren Winkler; and Kyla Dupont, 53.

A report released last year by the National Transportation Safety Board found that all of the tires were inflated and there was no debris on the runway when the plane slammed into the hangar and burst into flames. The hangar collapsed onto the plane, which had taken off from Hailey, Idaho.

Last Nov. 4, three sons of Dupont also sued the Benjamin estate. Charles Dupont, Elliot Dupont and Jackson Dupont allege Benjamin failed to maintain
proper control over the plane, did not act “reasonably in the ownership of the plane,” did not undertake the necessary actions to accomplish a safe flight, did not act reasonably in landing the plane and failed to keep it in good repair.

Related Posts

LA Protests Draw Thousands in Rebuke of Trump Administration and Elon Musk’s DOGE Cuts

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Marches Target Federal Layoffs, Program Cuts, and Attacks on Civil Rights Demonstrators filled city streets across Southern California on Saturday,...

Louisiana Double Murder Suspect Arrested in Near Culver City With Loaded Guns, Body Armor

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Marina Del Rey OfficersTraffic Stop Leads to Arrest of Fugitive Wanted in Parents’ Deaths A Louisiana man wanted for the...

A Dozen UCLA Student’s Visas Are Canceled After Federal Crackdown on Political Activism Announced

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

UC International Students Caught in Political Crossfire as Visas Are Pulled Over the past week, more than 36 students and...

Malibu Tech CEO Convicted in $20 Million Investor Celebrity Fraud Scheme

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Tech CEO Convicted After Lavish Lifestyle Funded by Fake Promises Bernhard Eugen Fritsch, 63, of Malibu, was found guilty late...

Venice Man With Alzheimer’s Reported Missing; Police Seek Public’s Help

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Richard Hunter, 79, Disappeared After Leaving His Home Saturday Morning Authorities and family members are seeking the public’s help in...

Spring Staycation: Santa Monica Invites Locals with Exclusive Hotel Deals

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

Los Angeles Residents Can Vacation Without Leaving Town Santa Monica Travel & Tourism is inviting Los Angeles County residents to...

BuildStrong is Leading the Effort to Rebuild the Pacific Palisades

April 7, 2025

April 7, 2025

The recent wildfires in the Pacific Palisades caused extensive property damage, leaving many residents unsure about how to move forward....

West LA Affordable Housing Development Gets OK Without Parking Spaces

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

New Sawtelle Affordable Housing Project Gets City Approval According to the approval document posted to the Los Angeles City Planning...

The BW in Brentwood Sells for $744K Per Unit, Sets New LA Benchmark

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

LA’s Priciest Apartment Deal in Years Just Closed in Brentwood Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a division of Marcus & Millichap,...

Genghis Cohen Leaving Fairfax Home After Four Decades

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

Chinese Food & Music Spot Genghis Cohen Is on the Move After more than four decades of serving New York-style...

Iconic Studio’s Departure Leaves Century City Facing Major Real Estate Shift

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

Once a Stable Real Estate Base, Century City Now Faces Renewed Uncertainty Century City, long considered a rare stronghold in...

Los Angeles Housing Department Ill-Equipped to Enforce Tenant Harassment Law

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

Thousands of Angelenos Report Harassment, Few Landlords Face Penalties A recent audit by the Los Angeles City Controller has found...

LAHSA CEO Resigns Amid Shift to New County-Led Homeless Department

April 6, 2025

April 6, 2025

LA Homeless Services Leader Resigns After Accountability Crisis The head of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has stepped down...

Suspect Arrested and Charged in March 27 Hit-and-Run Death

April 4, 2025

April 4, 2025

The Victim Was on the Way to His Job at the Beverly Hills Hotel  A 20-year-old man has been arrested...

LAPD to Conduct DUI Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols Across L.A. This Weekend

April 4, 2025

April 4, 2025

Checkpoints and Saturation Patrols Target High-Risk Areas, Come With High Penalties The Los Angeles Police Department will conduct a series...