`A David, Goliath' Battle In Court -- Pilot Wins Award From Millionaire

EVERETT - Nine years ago, pilot Dean Holt landed a great job.

As personal pilot for multimillionaire and Bayliner Boats founder J. Orin Edson, Holt's annual pay started at $110,000 and climbed steadily. He was rewarded bonuses starting at $10,000 the first year and jetted the world, rubbing elbows with the fabulously wealthy.

Best of all, he had job security, in the form of a generous 24-year contract with Edson's Pacific Marine Management, which would take care of him through 2011. It was a contract he demanded before leaving United Airlines, where he earned $75,000 annually.

The two men had an amicable relationship. Year after year, Holt got the maximum bonus to which he was entitled, and at one point Edson had bequeathed him $1 million in his will.

But in September 1994, just days after flying Edson and his family back to their Arlington estate from the Mediterranean, Holt was fired abruptly.

Rejecting a $24,000 settlement, Holt, 45, of Mount Vernon, filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against Edson, seeking 55 percent of his salary - the amount he would be entitled to contractually if fired without cause.

Edson, whose wealth was estimated at $580 million three years ago in Fortune magazine, argued that the firing was justified. Two years earlier, Holt had used a $26 million Falcon jet on a personal errand without Edson's authorization, he said.

Last week, after a two-week civil trial, a jury awarded Holt $648,411 in damages.

"It was a David and Goliath battle with a man who had millions," said Seattle attorney Paul Luvera, who represented Holt. "It indicates a man like Holt has a chance to get justice against a man who can afford to hire all the expert witnesses and the best attorneys."

Luvera added that Edson would likely have to pay an additional $300,000 in attorney fees.

Edson's attorney, Clem Barnes, of Bogle & Gates of Seattle, conceded only partial defeat.

"What the jury ended up doing was splitting the baby," Barnes said. "It agreed on a compromise."

Barnes pointed out that the jury rejected Holt's claim of emotional distress and the $1.1 million award suggested by Luvera, who said Holt could lose his new job because of allegations filed by Edson with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Last May, Holt returned to work at United Airlines, accepting the loss of his seniority and a salary that was less than half what he was paid when he left.

After Holt filed suit, Edson paid an expert $75,000 to look through Holt's aviation records and those of two other pilots who were testifying in Holt's behalf.

Since then, the FAA has started an investigation that could lead to Holt's losing his job.

Luvera claimed that Edson filed the report to punish Holt, but Barnes said Edson filed the report out of a moral obligation.

Neither Edson nor Holt could be reached for comment. Edson was out of town, Barnes said. Holt, meanwhile, was back at work.