Re: LADY ELGIN STATUS

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: : Court denies state claim to wreckage of Lady Elgin : : BY ED CALLAHAN : : STAFF WRITER : : An Illinois Supreme Court decision to hand title to the wreck of the Lady Elgin back to salvage expert Harry Zych still may not be the final chapter in the decade-old legal battle. : : David Blanchette, a spokesman for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency that has dueled Zych for the wreck since 1989, said the state is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. : : “We are reviewing the decision to see if there is grounds for an appeal,” Blanchette said Friday. He estimated that it would take the agency about a week to decide whether to file an appeal. : : For Zych the possibility of an appeal tempered the good news of last Thursday’s state court decision. He said he was concerned the state would appeal the ruling. : : “They've done dumber things,” he said. : : The object of this 10-year fight, the title to which has been passed back and forth between the state and Zych repeatedly, might seem hardly worth the effort. The remains have been strewn across nearly three miles of the bottom of Lake Michigan since the early morning of Sept. 8, 1860, when the ship sank in a violent storm following a crippling collision with a lumber schooner. : : What makes the wreck of the Lady Elgin important is that is the central figure in the worst Great Lakes shipwreck in history, with the exception of the 1915 capsizing of the steamer Eastland at its Chicago River dock that killed 815. Though the exact death toll can’t be determined because the passenger manifest went down with the ship, some 300 to 380 people died in the Lady Elgin disaster. Many of victims drowned trying to struggle ashore through the huge surf along Winnetka’s lakefront as village residents did their best to rescue them. A total of 105 people survived. : : The wreckage lies scattered in a three-mile line between Highland Park and Winnetka, several miles off shore and 60 feet down. No attempt was made to salvage the Lady Elgin until Zych, who owns American Salvage and Diving Co., announced in 1989 he had found the wreck and was bringing up various artifacts. : : The problem for Zych is that a 1987 federal law gave state governments title to all abandoned historic shipwrecks in their territorial waters. Whether the owners of the Lady Elgin and the insurance company that insured the ship actually did abandon the wreck in legal terms has been the basis for the lengthy court battle. : : Zych argued that the original insurance company never formally gave up title to the wreck and so he was able to obtain the title from the successor firm. The state’s argument is that the wreck sat in only 60 feet of water for more than 130 years without anyone trying to bring up anything. That, the state has contended, constitutes abandonment. : : Zych went to federal court in 1989 to claim possession of the wreck. The court ruled in his favor in 1990. The state appealed and a federal appellate court decided the next year the case should be decided in state court. : : In 1992 the state filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court, but the two sides reached a settlement in 1993. That fell apart the next year and Zych went back to court. The circuit court gave title to Zych, but in 1997 an Illinois Appellate Court said the wreck belongs to the state. Zych appealed that decision and now the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled in his favor. : : If the Illinois Supreme Court decision is the end to the legal fight, Zych said, he plans to go back to his original plan to open a museum featuring the artifacts recovered from the wreckage. He has organized the Lady Elgin Foundation and also is working with Cigna Property Casualty Insurance to set up a museum. The site has not been determined. A touring exhibit of the best artifacts also is a possibility. : : Cigna is involved because that is the successor company to Aetna, which issued the policy on the Lady Elgin — about 140 years ago. : : : : : : : This is old news. The IHPA has since announced that they will not pursue this case any further. Also, since this article is about legal issues, you should know that this artlicle was illegally reposted to this newsgroup. Just because you didn't include the copyright info doesn't make it OK to copy it to anywhere you please.

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