Appeal rejected

Family that owned defective limo in crash that killed 20 wants to regain Wilton motel

Family that rented out the stretch limo involved in the Schoharie crash that killed 20 people loses effort to regain control of motel, other properties.

The Hussain family, which rented out the Ford Excursion stretch limousine involved in the horrific crash in Schoharie that killed 20 people in October 2018, lost an appeal to regain control of their Wilton motel and other properties.

A panel of state Supreme Court justices in Saratoga County had placed an "attachment" on the properties that effectively made it impossible for the Hussains to sell them after the families of the victims of the crash argued that if their civil lawsuits against the Hussains are successful they would seek monetary damages.

At one point in 2019, the Hussains had put the motel up for sale for $1 million, although the Department of Health later shut down the motel and took away the family's license to operate it.

The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Albany heard the Hussains' appeal earlier this year and on Thursday ruled against the Hussains. The decision leaves the attachments in place.

Aimee Greer, an attorney with Lamarche Safranko Law in Albany, argued the case on behalf of the victims' families.

"We were confident that the lower court got this one right and are very pleased that the Appellate Division agreed and ruled in our favor," Greer said. "This rightfully provides some additional security for the families of the victims and ensures that compensation will be available when there is an eventual judgment."

Marc Kaim, who represents the Hussains, could not immediately be reached for comment.

One of the key factors in the decision was deciding whether or not Shahed Hussain, who ran the motel with his sons, was still considered to be domiciled in New York.

Lawyers for the families submitted Times Union articles showing that Hussain had left for Pakistan in early 2018 and did not intend to return, even though his son Nauman Hussain was charged with 40 felonies in connection with the death of the 20 victims of the crash and is facing years in prison if convicted.

"Plaintiff represented, with support from annexed newspaper accounts, that Shahed Hussain left New York for Pakistan in March 2018 and had no plans to return to the United States," a group of the justices wrote in their ruling. "Those facts, which defendants presented no evidence to dispute, were sufficient to show that Shahed Hussain had established his domicile in Pakistan."

The Times Union recently tracked Shahed Hussain, a longtime undercover informant for the FBI'S terrorism task force, to the Pakistani city of Lahore where he is involved in real estate development. Shahed Hussain left Pakistan in the 1990s and settled in Albany and started working for the FBI after the 9/11 attacks.

Shahed Hussain's sources of income and true identity have never been fully revealed. After his $90,000 Loudonville home was destroyed by fire in 2003, he sold the property, which had only been partially rebuilt, for $450,000 to a mystery buyer and used the money to buy the Wilton motel and later launch the limousine company that his son Nauman helped manage.

The trial in Schoharie County Court for Nauman Hussain has been delayed due to the pandemic. He pleaded not guilty and has been free on bond.