$100M Lawsuit Over Helicopter Crash Refiled
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — A major lawsuit against a Florida billionaire has been refiled.
The $100 million lawsuit is over a 2012 helicopter crash in the Bahamas that killed a prominent tax attorney.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed against real estate mogul Jeffrey Soffer by the widow of attorney Lance Valdez had been withdrawn from federal court. The widow's attorney, Gary Phillips, refiled it in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Friday.
Soffer owns the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach and is married to model Elle Macpherson.
The lawsuit claimed Soffer covered up that he was piloting the helicopter in November 2012 when it crashed on Great Guana Cay, killing his friend Valdez. The suit claimed Soffer and others sought to limit Valdez's widow and their three children to a $2 million insurance payment.
Soffer's attorney denies any wrongdoing.
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)