Daredevil sues Empire State Building owner

NEW YORK, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A daring parachute jumper sued the owners of the Empire State Building Tuesday because security guards prevented his leap from the New York structure in 2006.

Jeb Corliss, 31, of Malibu, Calif., told reporters security guards and police shouldn't have prevented him from making his leap from the skyscraper's observation deck on April 27, 2006, The New York Times reported.

"No one was in any danger of being injured except me," Corliss said, who said he could have been fatally injured if his chute had opened while he was shackled to a perimeter fence he had scaled.

Corliss, who had related criminal charges against him dismissed last year, is seeking $30 million in damages for defamation of character, unlawful imprisonment, emotional distress and lost income. His suit is a counterclaim to a $12 million lawsuit filed against him by the company last year, accusing him of endangering bystanders, the Times reported.

If he succeeds, it may be his greatest feat ever. Or maybe that will be if he achieves his next planned stunt, which involves jumping from an aircraft dressed in a flying-squirrel-like suit and gliding to Earth.