Aviation Liability

dmccormack

dmccormack

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Dan Mc
I'm doing some research for a law class.

My task is to describe how aviation cases differ from ordinary tort actions.

Anyone willing to suggest cases or other rabbit holes to investigate?

(or a better topic? :D)
 
dmccormack said:
I'm doing some research for a law class.

My task is to describe how aviation cases differ from ordinary tort actions.

Anyone willing to suggest cases or other rabbit holes to investigate?

(or a better topic? :D)
Click to expand...

Walker v. Segal, Cook Cty. Cir. Ct. No.2002-L-2169.

Judgment for 2.6 million because he had a landing gear malfunction.
 
Steve Foley said:
Walker v. Segal, Cook Cty. Cir. Ct. No.2002-L-2169.

Judgment for 2.6 million because he had a landing gear malfunction.
Click to expand...


I read the case -- sounds even worse...

"Following the crash, the estates and relatives of the decedents filed numerous suits against various parties, including the City of Chicago, Midwest, Renee Toone, the estates of the pilots of the airplanes which collided, and the pilot of a third airplane flying near Meigs Field. Most of the state court cases were settled, but one was tried. A jury found the pilot of a third airplane, who at the time of the collision was communicating with Toone [the CT controller on duty] about a landing gear problem, liable in the amount of $ 2,195,416."

Liable for $2.2 million for hogging up the frequency???
 
dmccormack said:
I'm doing some research for a law class.

My task is to describe how aviation cases differ from ordinary tort actions.

Anyone willing to suggest cases or other rabbit holes to investigate?

(or a better topic? :D)
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what an "ordinary" tort action is, and I'd limit the topic to either GA or airline travel, but here's theory to try out:

Aviation, especially, GA is one of a group of activities that juries are unfamiliar with the details of and that are perceived as inherently dangerous. That lack of understanding and that perception will make itself felt in the way the case is handled all they way to the types of verdicts that are reached.
 
Steve Foley said:
Walker v. Segal, Cook Cty. Cir. Ct. No.2002-L-2169.

Judgment for 2.6 million because he had a landing gear malfunction.
Click to expand...

THERE'S YOUR PROBLEM.

The Lesson here: Don't do anything that can get you sued in Cook County.

I can plz be a law perfssr?
 
Dan: Here in Texas, district courts don't normally publish written opinions; therefore, one has to look at appellate decisions. That should tell you something about the cost of getting to the point these decisions were made right there.

Best,

Dave
 
Here is something that is a bit different in cases involving the FAA ie alleged Controller negligence Damages can be limited by statute I believe an thus are a bit different that the normal negligence case.
 
Personal opinions aside, I only provide the info because I feel it is applicable to the topic. It should in no way be construed as otherwise.

vontresc said:
Steve be careful mentioning A.W. he may try to sue if you're not nice to him..... It's a shame AvWeb gave in to his lawsuit
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One of the areas I find interesting is the transition from ordinary state tort law to Admiralty law. The air crash litigation surrounding the A300 that went down in Queens NY is probably a pretty good starting place. (Name escapes me but something like "in re, air disaster in Jamaica Bay".)
Another thing you could possibly discuss is the Warsaw convention and subsequent amendments and how they limit liability on international flight.
And one final idea, you could talk about how GARA limits suits against aircraft makers when the aircraft is older than 18 years. I wrote a very big paper on this subject when I was in law school.
I don't do tort litigation, but I do work as an aviation attorney. Feel free to PM me if you want to bounce ideas off me.
 
Also, for airlines, check out what Henning refers to - absolute liability or something like it. If you're an airline, and there's an accident, supposedly the burden of proof is on you to show you haven't breached your duty. Maybe he'll chime in and set me straight.

Oh, and on the GARA topic, you might discuss some of the interesting ways folks have tried to work around it - had an overhaul, does that reset GARA for only the parts replaced, or the whole engine?
 
Thanks for all the ideas... all very helpful and all worthy of further investigation.

I'm intrigued by the negative impact of the GARA on all except the a/c manufacturers. I only have anecdotal data, but it seems after the deep pockets dried up the risk burden shifted to the individual owners and suppliers, reducing the ranks, and thereby spreading increased risk over a decreased base.
 
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AdamZ said:
Here is something that is a bit different in cases involving the FAA ie alleged Controller negligence Damages can be limited by statute I believe an thus are a bit different that the normal negligence case.
Click to expand...
FAA cases fall under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and there are a lot of differences there. Dan would do well to read up on that Act. A few cases worth looking into are:

Wenzel v US (11 Avi. 17, 349)
Murray v US (10 Avi. 18, 334)
Maynard v. US (10 Avi. 17, 708)
Thinguldstad v US (13 Avi. 17, 107)
 
vontresc said:
Steve be careful mentioning A.W. he may try to sue if you're not nice to him..... It's a shame AvWeb gave in to his lawsuit
Click to expand...
Well, AvWeb did not give in to his lawsuit. Mike Busch did. And FWIW the sale of AvWeb to Belvoir was already in the works, but Wolk made it a condition of dropping the suit.
 
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