Heres that negative article in the afr on Sundance (RWEmerson)...

Heres that negative article in the afr on Sundance (RWEmerson) is talking about.

Sundance families sue over crash
by Ayesha de Kretser

The families of several Sundance Resources executives who died in a light plane crash in the Congo nearly two years ago are suing the company for unspecified damages. The crash killed 11 people including mining entrepreneur Ken Talbot and the entire Sundance board.

The news is a blow for the Africa-focused iron ore explorer which, on Friday, cleared a hurdle in its race to satisfy the conditions of a takeover bid from China’s Hanlong Mining, when the Foreign Investment Review Board sanctioned the deal. Hanlong bought its initial 16 per cent stake from the family of Mr Talbot.

The action is being taken by the families of Mr Talbot’s assistant, Natasha Flason; former managing director Don Lewis; former chairman Geoff Wedlock; non-executive director John Jones; and company secretary John Carr-Gregg.

The families will also sue Garmin International, the US company that manufactured the plane’s GPS unit.

The families of Mr Talbot and director Craig Oliver have not joined the claim.

Sundance chairman George Jones said the company would vigorously defend itself. “We’ve seen a copy of the report, all the instruments were working well,” he said.

Sundance was criticised at the time of the accident for exercising poor corporate governance by allowing its entire board of directors to board a single aircraft. The decision was made after a second aircraft failed to get clearance for take-off. Mr Jones said the decision was not ultimately illegal and did not factor in the legal proceedings.

Former Ansett pilot and Qantas safety investigator Bill Fry, who began consulting to Sundance Resources in the wake of the crash, said investigators had found no evidence of mechanical failure.

The action being brought against Garmin alleges that Sundance, which is headquartered in Perth, also has operations in Illinois, Chicago. Mr Fry said this was a common tactic used in aviation litigation. You find a lot of these sorts of cases are heard in the United States,” he said.

Sundance shares fell 7.4 per cent to 36¢ on Friday

http://www.afr.com/p/business/companies/sundance_families_sue_over_crash_5paZONe861hkR0f3PQXX8K