$100 Million Wrongful Death Suit Against Fontainebleau Owner Jeffrey Soffer Dropped

A $100 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against Fontainebleau Hotel owner and Elle Macpherson's husband, Jeffrey Soffer, has been dropped. The suit, filed by the widow of Soffer's longtime friend, attorney Lance Valdez, claimed Soffer was responsible for the 2012 helicopter crash that killed Valdez. See also: Miley Cyrus, Dubai...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

January 3, 2014

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A $100 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against Fontainebleau Hotel owner and Elle Macpherson's husband, Jeffrey Soffer, has been dropped.

The suit, filed by the widow of Soffer's longtime friend, attorney Lance Valdez, claimed Soffer was responsible for the 2012 helicopter crash that killed Valdez.

Valdez had hired a helicopter to take him, Soffer, and two companions to a private island in the Bahamas, but the helicopter crashed off Great Cauna Cay. Soffer and the others were injured, but Valdez was the only person killed in the crash.

Valdez's widow, Daria Gogoleva, claimed Soffer, an amateur pilot who didn't have the certification to fly a copter, took control of the helicopter despite a licensed pilot being on board and was responsible for the crash.

The suit claims Soffer tried to buy his way out of trouble and engage in a conspiracy with the other passengers to cover up the alleged fact he was flying the chopper. The suit also alleges Macpherson was involved in trying to get Gogoleva to take hush money and not file a suit by talking to mutual friends.

Soffer and his attorneys claimed from the beginning that the suit was meritless. Now it has been dropped with little explanation. According to the Miami Herald, an out-of-court settlement was not reached.

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