Local News in Brief : Countywide : Jury Awards No Money in Children’s Crash Suit

A jury on Thursday refused to award any money to the families of two Orange County couples who were killed more than 6 years ago when the single-engine aircraft they were renting crashed near Yorba Linda.

The children of Michael Stevens, 38, and his wife, Beverly, 36, and of Ronald Wagner, 37, and his wife, Sheila, 35, had sought to hold the General Aviation Co. of Fullerton responsible for the accident. They claimed that the firm rented out a defective plane and should never have let a pilot with Michael Stevens’ limited experience take the plane out on a hazy night. Stevens had 214 hours of flying experience, 45 hours of that total at night.

But the jury, with little debate, found unanimously that there was no merit to either of those charges, jury foreman Edward E. Johnson of San Juan Capistrano said.

“If there was a shred of evidence that General Aviation was at fault, this jury would have loved to have awarded damages to the families,” Johnson said. “The jury was sympathetic for the family.”

The Wagner children had been seeking $2.5 million in damages, while the Stevens’ sought $150,000, according to General Aviation’s attorney, Peter Brotzen of Los Angeles. Brotzen said he understood that in a separate insurance settlement the Wagner children received $200,000 as a result of the accident and the Stevens’ got $100,000.

Paul Stevens, son of Michael and Beverly Stevens, said: “We’re just disappointed. There’s not really much else to say.” He and other family members refused further comment, as did their attorneys.

The Stevenses and the Wagners had taken the plane out for a flight for dinner in Riverside. They were on their return to Fullerton when the Piper Cherokee Warrior crashed in an orange grove outside Yorba Linda on June 12, 1982.