Business briefs for May 4, 2001

Friday, May 4, 2001 | 11:14 a.m.

Families sue tiremaker over women's deaths

The families of two Arizona women sued Yokohama Tire Corp. of Fullerton, Calif., and its Tokyo-based parent, Yokohama Rubber Co., alleging a defective tire caused the women's deaths in a Nevada wreck.

The families of Mary Cotter and Florence Martinez, two Bullhead City, Mojave County, Ariz., women, alleged in a Clark County District Court suit that the two women -- who were passengers in a 1991 GMC driven by Ethelyn Gataino -- died in Boulder City, Nev., on May 26, 1999, when the car rolled over several times after its left rear tire blew out.

At the time of the accident, Martinez was seated in the right front passenger seat and Cotter was seated in the right rear passenger seat, the suit said.

The suit said Gataino was driving southbound on U.S. 95 when the tire tread of a Mohawk Montega A/S Radial Tire separated, "causing her car to cross off the paved shoulder and into the dirt median."

The plaintiffs alleged Yokohama's defective manufacturing process produced "inadequate vulcanization, resulting in the propensity of the tire tread to separate from the carcass of the subject tire."

Yokohama officials could not be reached for comment on the allegations.

Doctor sued over resignation

A rehabilitation medicine specialist sued to recover more than $250,000 in damages from a former doctor, alleging she breached a two-year agreement when she resigned one month into the contract.

Mondell Rehabilitation Associates of Nevada doing business as Rehabilitation Associates of Nevada Ltd. sued Jinny Yoon -- who was allegedly hired as one of its doctors from Nov. 1 through Oct. 31, 2002 -- in Clark County District Court.

The suit seeks to recover $8,547 in moving and licensing fees, professional dues and credentialing fees, which it said would have been amortized over her two-year contract and offset by Yoon's income had she fulfilled her contract.

Mondell Rehabilitation also seeks an order to stop her from competing against the company, soliciting its patients and staff and to be protected against claims of professional negligence by requiring her to pay professional malpractice insurance premium at her own expense.

Yoon could not be reached for comment on the allegations.

Airline sues state over fired worker's benefits

America West Airlines Inc. sued to reverse a decision by the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation to award unemployment benefits to a former airline employee, saying he was "properly terminated for misconduct."

America West sued the Employment Security Division and Todd Beavers, a former ground operations fleet service worker, in Clark County District Court.

The suit said the state's decision fails to consider what the company said are legitimate causes for Beavers' termination and also allegedly discredits the "non self-serving testimony of AWA employees."

The airline said Beavers, who was hired in October 1986 and terminated in November 2000, was not eligible for unemployment benefits after he violated America West's safety regulations and code of conduct rules when he allegedly illegally entered an area at McCarran International Airport on Oct. 28 and allegedly assaulted his fiancee, another airline worker, after she allegedly returned his engagement ring.

Beavers could not be reached for comment.

Industrial development sues state for water

A Las Vegas water services provider for Apex Industrial Park Inc. is seeking an order to force State Engineer Hugh Ricci to approve its application to draw 2,000 acre-feet of water from a rural county, a move it says is crucial to the development of the park.

Dry Lake Water LLC and Apex are appealing a March 20 ruling by Ricci granting the Las Vegas Valley Water District rights to pump 2,200 acre-feet of water in Hidden Valley, northeast of Las Vegas, saying "the loss of the water puts at risk the entire Apex development."

Located 15 miles north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15, Apex is a 21,000-acre chunk of desert land designated to keep chemical factories away from residential areas. It now has industrial and power-generating operations both operating and planned.

Dry Lake, which filed for its water permit in 1998, alleged the water district agreed in 1999 to give the company superior claims to the water.

But Ricci disputed Dry Lake's claims, saying the alleged 1999 agreement isn't binding on him. "There was never any guarantee by the State Engineer that any permit or permits would be granted to Dry Lake regardless of whatever agreement (it) had with the water district."

"Nevada is a prior-appropriation state, meaning if there are two competing applications, whoever filed first would be given first priority, assuming there is no impact from pumping the water, and that it isn't detrimental to the public interest," Ricci said. "Since the water district was first in its application, it'll get the permit over Dry Lake."

Ricci added that he was told by the water district that it would be able to negotiate for some electricity from new plants to remain in Southern Nevada in exchange for water as part of efforts to mitigate the effects of a possible power crisis of the magnitude seen in California in recent months.

Transportation management company formed

The former president of Fox Limousine has formed a Las Vegas company that will coordinate and manage a variety of ground transportation services.

Richard Cooley last month opened Global Transportation Group Inc. at The Plazas Office Park, 2320 Paseo del Prado, Suite B-112. Cooley, who also worked at Carey International, a leading ground transportation company based in Washington, D.C., plans to coordinate with several Las Vegas limousine and bus companies to manage transportation for special events.

The company also will staff and manage drivers and chauffeurs and offer an Internet-based reservation system allowing customers to produce passenger manifests through customized websites.

GTG has four employees, with plans to grow to 10 to 12 by the end of the year.

Pan Am sues Vegas firm over trademark

Pan American World Airways and its licensee, a Hong Kong maker of plastic and die-cast airliner replicas, sued to stop a Las Vegas model plane maker from using the Pan Am trademark to make and advertise airliner model planes.

The Portsmouth, N.H.-based airline and Dragon Models Ltd., the sole authorized user of the Pan Am trademarks, sued Gemini Jets Inc. in U.S. District Court, alleging the company repeatedly ignored their demands since last January to stop infringing the Pan Am trademarks.

Gemini Jets could not be reached for comment.