Dentist to Affluent Sues Lidle Estate
Thursday, March 01, 2007

By SAMUEL MAULL, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK -

A dentist to the rich and famous has filed a $7 million lawsuit against the
estate of late New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, claiming his home was
destroyed when the ballplayer's small airplane crashed into his apartment
building.
Dr. Lawrence Rosenthal says in court papers that after Lidle's Cirrus SR-20
aircraft crashed into the Manhattan building where he lived with his wife
and teenage son, they had to vacate their 43rd-floor apartment.

Rosenthal, whose patients include Donald Trump, Bruce Springsteen and
Catherine Zeta-Jones, said his apartment sustained "severe damage, including
broken windows, smoke damage, loose bricks and extensive other damage" that
forced them out.

The plane, with Lidle and flight instructor Tyler Stanger aboard, hit the
Upper East Side building on the 30th floor, 13 floors below Rosenthal's
apartment, on Oct 11. Lidle, 34, and Stanger, 26, were killed in the crash.

The two had taken a midday flight past the Statue of Liberty and north up
the East River. They apparently had trouble when they tried to turn and head
south.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated, but its report said
it reached no final conclusions about the cause of the accident, nor did the
agency's report say who was at the controls when the airplane crashed.

Rosenthal's lawyer, David Jaroslawicz, said Thursday that "everything was
destroyed" in his client's home and the family has been renting while
waiting to return. He said their home is actually three apartments joined to
make one apartment that is worth "several million dollars."

Rosenthal's lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Manhattan state Supreme Court, names
Lidle's wife, Melanie Lidle, as the defendant in her capacity as
administratrix of her late husband's estate.

A lawyer for her, Robert N. Clarke Jr., issued a statement saying attorneys
for the Lidle and Stanger families had filed wrongful-death lawsuits against
Cirrus Design Corp., maker of the airplane, in California. He said the
lawsuits allege product liability, negligence and other complaints.

A spokeswoman for Cirrus Design didn't immediately return messages left on
her office phone and cell phone on Thursday.

Rosenthal was in the news in January, when he sued best-selling dating-book
author Ellen Fein for $5 million after she called him a quack on the
LyingDentist.com and BadDentist.com Web sites. She accused him of ruining
her mouth.

The lawsuit accused Fein, author of "The Rules," of defamation, harassment
and extortion.

Fein's lawyer, Ann McGrane, said she planned to file a motion to dismiss
Rosenthal's lawsuit, and she said she was sure it would be granted.

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Mar01/0,4670,HighRisePlaneCrash,00.html

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