![Jenny Rivera at the Pepsi Center, August 22, 2009. Photo by Julio Enriquez/CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.](http://2gn058m8vqz358inn1lanr2o.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Jenni-Rivera-16-9-232x150.jpg)
![Jenny Rivera at the Pepsi Center, August 22, 2009. Photo by Julio Enriquez/CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.](http://2gn058m8vqz358inn1lanr2o.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Jenni-Rivera-16-9-640x360.jpg)
Jenny Rivera at the Pepsi Center, August 22, 2009. Photo by Julio Enriquez/CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
A lawyer for relatives of four members of Jenni Rivera‘s entourage killed with her in the 2012 crash of a Learjet near Monterrey, Mexico, told a judge Friday he will pursue a default judgment against the aircraft’s owners.
Attorney Steven Archer represents family members of Rivera’s publicist, Arturo Rivera; makeup artist Jacobo Yebale; hairstylist Jorge Armando Sanchez Vasquez; and her lawyer, Mario Macias Pacheco.
Their lawsuit is consolidated with one that was brought separately on behalf of relatives of Miguel Perez Soto, one of two pilots who died in the crash.
Starwood Management LLC is the only remaining defendant in the case, Archer said. Starwood is facing a possible default judgment because the company last took part in the case in February 2014.
All other defendants were dismissed, including Jenni Rivera Enterprises Inc. and Duncan Aviation Inc., which maintained the 1969 Learjet 25, according to Archer.
In September 2014, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Holly Kendig granted a motion striking Starwood’s answer to the part of the case filed by the Rivera entourage’s family members. That opened the door for the possible default judgment against Starwood that Archer said he will now pursue. Kendig scheduled a hearing for April 14 to update her on the default effort.
Meanwhile, Anthony Lopez, an attorney for the Rivera family, said attempts are still being made to serve Starwood with the separate lawsuit the singer’s relatives filed against the company in December 2014. A hearing on the progress of those attempts is scheduled June 22.
The crash occurred about 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 9, 2012 — 15 minutes after takeoff — in the mountains of northern Mexico. Rivera had just performed in Monterrey and was on her way to Mexico City to appear on the Mexican version of “The Voice.”
Rivera, 43, dominated the banda style of regional Mexican music popular in California and northwestern Mexico. She was one of the biggest stars on Mexico television and was popular on “regional Mexican” stations in California.
—City News Service
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