Sunshine Enterprise faces suit after deadly plane crash
Months after Sunshine Enterprise lost its CEO, Wei Chen, and nearly every other senior leader in a deadly plane crash, an insurance provider has filed a federal complaint over a workers’ compensation death benefit claim.
Zurich American Insurance Company of Illinois said when Sunshine Enterprise submitted paperwork for an insurance quote, it was asked if it owned, operated or leased an aircraft, and the company answered no.
But the plane that crashed near Atlanta on Dec. 20 was registered to Chen, who was also the pilot. John Chen, chief operating officer; Danielle Mitchell, corporate controller; and Bruce Pelynio, president of Heli Americas, a subsidiary of the company, also were killed.
Mike Mcannally, the only member of the company’s senior leadership not on the plane, took over as CEO after the deaths.
Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance, the company that helped Sunshine Enterprise connect with Zurich for insurance coverage, also is named in the lawsuit. No one from the company could be reached for comment.
“In determining whether to provide Sunshine with workers’ compensation insurance and the cost of such insurance, Zurich had to assess the risk of loss for such coverage,” the complaint said. “Sunshine’s actions in owning, operating or leasing (an) aircraft increased Zurich’s risk of loss.”
According to the complaint, Zurich is looking for a judge to determine if the false information about owning an aircraft voids the workers’ compensation claims. And if the claim is still valid, Zurich questions if Lipscomb & Pitts Insurance should be the ones responsible for paying the claim.
The complaint was scant on details about the insurance claim.
It did not detail how much Sunshine Enterprise paid for the policy since it started working with Zurich in 2015, how much more the company would have paid if Zurich knew Wei Chen had a plane or how much Sunshine Enterprise had requested in workers’ compensation claims. It said the amount of the claim exceeded $75,000.
Mcannally said he wouldn’t comment on the issue until after it is resolved.
Desiree Stennett can be reached at desiree.stennett@commercialappeal.com, 901-5292738 or on Twitter: @desi_stennett.