The families of those who died in the horrific avalanche near Lake Tahoe could sue their tour guide company for as much as $50 million, an attorney has claimed.
But the grieving relatives are unlikely to get near that much depending on Blackbird Mountain Guide’s insurance policy, said lawyer Jeffrey Kaloustian, who handles ski-related cases in California.
Nine backcountry skiers were killed in the massive snow slide last Tuesday, marking the Golden State’s worst avalanche tragedy since official records began.
Kaloustian, who is based out of Grass Valley in the Sierra Nevada foothills, said Blackbird could be on the hook for multiple millions of dollars if the families file civil suits against them.
He suggested there could be filings for around $5 million per person who died, depending on their personal factors.
He told the California Post: “It could be up to $50 million, but the insurance company wont pay a nickel above what they’re obligated to pay and that’s a big question over the coverage. If it was not an issue, then it could be somewhere in that $50 million figure.”
The attorney said the number was up to the families and their lawyers to figure out, but suggested it would likely be high due to their successful jobs.
He said: “You have nine people killed and some of these people were high earners. They had huge incomes, those factors would go into a damage calculations.
“You would look at life expectancy for each of them, calculate their income, and that would be the math.
“Regardless of how much insurance there is, the value of the claims are going to way outstrip what the insurance policy is, even if they have $5 million of insurance, that’s going to be totally inadequate.
“It might be enough for one woman in her 40s working in the tech industry, but I would think a claim for multiple millions of dollars per person would be realistic.
“If there is a limitation based on insurance, then it will be an apportionment of what will be available for each person depending on negotiations.”
Kaloustian said if the victims’ families want to there could be some scope for them to target the owner of Blackbird Zeb Blais for his personal assets, but admitted it was unlikely.
He continued: “The owner’s assets could in theory be taken if he had a bunch of money in the bank or he had a home.
“I don’t think the assets of the owner of the company are usually reachable though unless there’s kind of piercing of the corporate veil.”
He added: “This is going to be really driven by insurance. They’re mountain guides, not rich people, they probably don’t have many individual assets to go after.”
Blackbird is facing a criminal investigation as well as one by the state of California over the disaster on Castle Peak.
Kaloustian said the police probe will likely center around criminally negligent homicide, which is similar to what people face if they are at fault in a fatal car crash.
Blackbird Mountain Guides
He said: “There was a series of decisions that were made and who was responsible, it started with them not anticipating the trip and understanding that that amount of snow in that time was going to lead to extreme avalanche conditions.
“The conditions were four out of five, meaning it was very likely [an avalanche] would happen and one skier triggering an avalanche was extremely likely. There’s a series of missteps here.
“If they are going to charge him they need to find he acted with gross negligence, not just a misstep, this would have to be an extreme example. If he is found guilty it could pave the way for civil litigation. This is more important.”
He added that regardless of any waiver the skiers will have signed, it will not protect Blackbird if gross negligence or reckless conduct is found.
Just two days before the avalanche struck, the company had put out a video from the Lake Tahoe area with one of its guides pointing out the likelihood of snow slides.
Kaloustian said he saw the video and warned: “I think that’s a factor for sure and it doesn’t help them. I saw the video of them digging a pit on Mt Rose talking about unpredictable avalanches. That could establish the knowledge they had of it coming.
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“There is still without that an abundance of evidence from weather forecasts. These guys know what they’re doing and I’m dumbfounded as to what led them to allow the trip to go forward in those conditions.”
The lawyer said he expects the families will hire one attorney and bring a class action lawsuit together, rather than file individually, due to the similarities in their deaths.
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The victims have been identified as six moms — Carrie Atkin, Kate Morse, Danielle Keatley, Caroline Sekar, Kate Vitt and Liz Claubaugh — along with three tour guides: Michael Henry, Andrew Alissandratos and Nicole Choo.
Grandfather-to-be Jim Hamilton has been identified as one of the six survivors who was rescued after six hours in the snow.
His wife Beth said: “I thought I had lost you forever. The not knowing whether you survived was a pain I cannot put into words.”
The Post has contacted Blackbird and the PR firm representing the victims’ families for comment. No charges have been filed.
