Eclipse Position-holder Sues for Deposit Refund

By Matt Thurber

July 17, 2008
Business Aviation, Aircraft

Geiger Excavating filed a lawsuit against Eclipse Aviation, seeking refund of a $150,000 deposit for an Eclipse 500 VLJ plus pre-judgment interest and costs of taking the case to court. Jay Geiger, president of Geiger Excavating of Fort Wayne, Ind., signed a deposit agreement for an Eclipse 500 in October 2000.

According to Geiger, before April this year, Eclipse said that the anticipated delivery date of his jet would be October/November 2008. But on April 11, Eclipse asked Geiger to pay $773,762.40 by April 18 or Geiger would be in default of the deposit agreement and would forfeit the $150,000.

According to the complaint, “Eclipse’s demand was based on an anticipated delivery date in September 2008,” and Eclipse refused to adjust the final payment date based on the previously discussed October/November delivery. On April 18, Geiger demanded a full refund of the $150,000, and Eclipse refused.

The complaint accuses Eclipse of material breach of the deposit agreement and cites a provision in the agreement that allows cancellation and refund “if FAA Part 23 certification of the Eclipse 500 jet occurs after June 30, 2004. An Eclipse Aviation spokeswoman said that the company does not comment on lawsuits.

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