Monday, March 02, 2015

Kay County judge splits lawsuit settlement over Oklahoma State University plane crash: Piper PA-28-180 Cherokee B, N7746W

The divorced parents of Oklahoma State University coach Miranda Serna agreed to accept a $250,000 settlement to drop their lawsuit over her 2011 death. A judge had to decide how much each parent received. 


PONCA CITY — How do you measure a mother’s grief? Or a father’s?

A Kay County judge here was forced to decide that after the parents of Oklahoma State University coach Miranda Serna accepted a $250,000 settlement to drop their lawsuit over her death in an airplane crash.

The judge, Philip A. Ross, had to step in because the long-divorced parents could not agree on how to split the money.

The judge in December awarded 70 percent to the mother, Nettie Herrera, of Guadalupita, N.M., “simply because of the overwhelming evidence” she had enjoyed a constant companionship with her daughter.

The judge awarded 30 percent to the father, John Serna, of Ledoux, N.M. The father did not appeal.

The judicial decision is a sad and final footnote to the 2011 airplane crash that deeply impacted Oklahoma State University and its supporters.

Head women’s basketball coach, Kurt Budke, 50, and his assistant, Serna, 36, were killed Nov. 17, 2011, in Arkansas during a recruiting trip.

The plane’s pilot, Olin Branstetter, 82, of Ponca City, and his wife, Paula Branstetter, 79, also were killed.

Lawsuits filed in 2012

Budke’s widow and Serna’s parents in 2012 filed wrongful death lawsuits in Ponca City against the estates of the pilot and his wife. They dismissed the lawsuits last September after reaching confidential settlements paid by the pilot’s insurance company, attorneys said.

The settlement over Serna’s death later became public because the judge had to decide how to split the proceeds.

“How can we measure emotional loss like that using a dollar figure or a percentage?” the father’s attorney, Bradley Mallett, wrote the judge. “It is impossible, but that task is exactly what has been laid at the feet of this court.”

Miranda Serna’s parents divorced when she was a young child, and she lived with her mother. She credited her father with teaching her basketball, but he never attended any of her high school games. He explained at a hearing last year that he was busy working to provide financial support to his children.

In his ruling, the judge pointed to evidence the mother and daughter stayed closely in contact when apart and on many occasions spent time together. “The correspondence admitted into evidence showed a constant and abiding love between them,” the judge noted.

Herrera, a retired teacher, testified last year her daughter talked to her from OSU every day by phone, sometimes more than once.

“I can only do one day at a time,” Herrera testified. “Being a Catholic, going to daily Mass, has helped me to cope. ... I miss everything.”

In his ruling, the judge pointed out the father was not in contact with his daughter as much as the mother. The judge noted, though, that he “believes that Mr. Serna certainly grieves deeply for the loss of his daughter and friend.”

Story and photo:  http://newsok.com/article/5397674

NTSB Identification: CEN12FA072
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Thursday, November 17, 2011 in Perryville, AR
Probable Cause Approval Date: 02/27/2013
Aircraft: PIPER PA-28-180, registration: N7746W
Injuries: 4 Fatal.

NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

About 2 hours after departure, radar data tracked the airplane at 7,000 feet before the airplane then initiated a right, descending turn before disappearing from radar. Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying low, descending, making several turns, before impacting terrain. Impact signatures were consistent with a steep, nose-low attitude. An examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact anomalies. The reason for the pilot's loss of control could not be determined.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's loss of control in flight.

http://www.ntsb.gov

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