44 results for 'cat:"Aviation"'.
J. Nelson denied a pilot's petition for review of the National Transportation Safety Board’s order affirming the Federal Aviation Administration's revocation of his pilot certificate. The pilot transported marijuana, which is legal under Alaska law but a controlled substance under federal law, by aircraft within Alaska which prompted the FAA to revoke his pilot certificate. The pilot did not show that the FAA lacked jurisdiction to revoke his pilot certificate because Congress cannot authorize an administrative agency to regulate purely intrastate commerce like marijuana delivery within Alaska.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Nelson, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 22-70129, Categories: aviation
J. Hicks grants the flight support company's motion for summary judgment in this negligence suit. A private plane was damaged by the corporation's making contact with another plane it was moving at the storage facility. The pilot who left the plane to be stored signed a "landing card" stipulating the corporation is not liable for damage. The terms of the landing card are an enforceable contract, including the limitation of liability footnote. Though the pilot involved was not the principal pilot contracted to fly the plane, he was cloaked with apparent authority by the original pilot. The principal “is estopped from later denying the actions of the agent” once he “cloaks the agent with the apparent authority to act[.]”
Court: USDC Nevada, Judge: Hicks , Filed On: March 28, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv2011, NOS: All Other Real Property - Real Property, Categories: Insurance, Contract, aviation
J. Darby finds the trial court properly entered summary judgment in favor of Cessna. After the pilots were injured in a plane crash, they filed a negligence suit against Cessna alleging the company failed to revise its service manual to include a new part and installation instructions. The claim is subject to the General Aviation Revitalization Act's statute of repose. Cessna did not add or omit anything to the service manual that was a proximate cause of the accident in order to restart the statute. Affirmed.
Court: Oklahoma Supreme Court, Judge: Darby , Filed On: March 12, 2024, Case #: 121,203, Categories: Tort, Negligence, aviation
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Zainey denies summary judgment to an insurer on its argument that its policy for an aircraft does not cover approximately $79,000 worth of repairs. The damage falls within a wear-and-tear exclusion, not as the result of “a single-recorded incident which requires immediate repair.” The policy fails to define the term “single-recorded incident” and “immediate repair;" therefore, the ordinary meaning of the terms control. Because both the insurer and the policyholder offer reasonable interpretations of the terms, the policy is ambiguous under state law and must be interpreted in favor of the policyholder.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Zainey, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: 2:22cv4603, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Evidence, Insurance, aviation
J. Southwick finds the district court properly dismissed the pilot's claims against the corporate defendants. The pilot suffered injuries from a crash caused by alleged component malfunctions of the single-engine plane he was flying. He filed suit in Mississippi state court against various manufacturers, and the suit was removed to federal court because two Mississippi defendants were improperly joined. Claims against the out-of-state defendants were then dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. Although certain requested documents could potentially show Mississippi connections, the pilot relies "on vague assertions that additional discovery will produce needed, but unspecified facts,” which is insufficient to allow jurisdictional discovery. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Southwick , Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 22-60603, Categories: Product Liability, Jurisdiction, aviation
J. Carroll finds the trial court improperly denied an aviation company’s post-judgment motion for reconsideration for a contract dispute against the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. The agency was granted its motion to dismiss, for failure to state a claim, the breach of contract claim related to a failed project that the lender stopped financing. The aviation company must convince the lower court to reopen the case before opening a second amended complaint to cure the deficiencies. Reversed.
Court: Vermont Supreme Court, Judge: Carroll, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: 23-AP-311, Categories: Banking / Lending, Contract, aviation
J. Engelmayer dismisses the union's complaint challenging a mutual aid agreement between the port authority and the city that provides for coordination between the port authority, which maintains security at JFK and LaGuardia airports, and the city fire department in the event of an aircraft emergency. The union cannot show it will be harmed if one of its members cannot assume the role of "Incident commander" in the event of an airport emergency.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Engelmayer, Filed On: February 22, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv560, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Labor / Unions, aviation
[Consolidated.] J. Gillmor rules on several consolidated motions in limine in a case involving fatal helicopter crash. Motions to exclude documents like the helicopter company’s liability waivers and night-flying policy are denied due to their relevance to the case. A request for spoliation sanctions regarding radar information that was initially deleted and then later reconstructed is denied, though the issue of admissibility will be determined at trial.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Gillmor, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: 1:20cv265, NOS: Airplane - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Government, Wrongful Death, aviation
[Consolidated.] J. Gillmor rules on several consolidated motions in limine in a case involving fatal helicopter crash. Motions to exclude documents like the helicopter company’s liability waivers and night-flying policy are denied due to their relevance to the case. A request for spoliation sanctions regarding radar information that was initially deleted and then later reconstructed is denied, though admissibility will be ruled on at trial.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Gillmor, Filed On: February 13, 2024, Case #: 1:20cv266, NOS: Airplane - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Government, Wrongful Death, aviation
J. Woods partially denies the aircraft engineering firm's motion to dismiss claims stemming from its failure to upgrade a private aircraft's internet and entertainment systems. The owner's breach of contract claims related to the eX1 system are untimely due to the parties' efforts to resolve the issues for 10 years. However, the contracted equipment upgrades are still enforceable.
Court: USDC Southern District of New York, Judge: Woods, Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv7472, NOS: Other Contract - Contract, Categories: Contract, aviation
J. Dale denies an aviation group's motion to intervene as defendants in a matter in which environmental groups challenge the government's actions to authorize and maintain allegedly unlawful private aircraft landings within the Big Creek watershed of the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in central Idaho. The aviation group's members use the landing strips. The aviation group has not shown that it has inadequate representation by the state or Forest Service.
Court: USDC Idaho, Judge: Dale, Filed On: November 20, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv295, NOS: Environmental Matters - Other Suits, Categories: Environment, aviation
J. Ransom finds that the lower court improperly overruled the airline's motion to compel arbitration in a class action suit filed by a pilot who claims the airline failed to pay pilots their promised bonuses. The Federal Arbitration Act does not exempt interstate employees from contractual arbitration agreements and the airline gave employees requisite notice of the arbitration provision as required by the Missouri Uniform Arbitration Agreement. Vacated.
Court: Missouri Supreme Court, Judge: Ransom, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: SC99961, Categories: Arbitration, Class Action, aviation
J. Jolivette Brown grants summary judgment to an insurance company and against the owner of an aircraft on his breach of contract claim, arising from hurricane damage to his plane which crashed three months later while en route to scheduled repairs from the storm, destroying the aircraft and killing the pilot. The insurer successfully argued it paid the plane’s owner the full policy amount of $65,000, the agreed value of the aircraft, following the crash. The owner does not dispute that additional payment for the hurricane’s damages to the aircraft would constitute impermissible double recovery. The ruling does not address the plane owner’s additional claims of negligence, bad faith or breached duties as the insurer’s request is limited only to further payment for property damage to the aircraft under its policy.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Louisiana , Judge: Jolivette Brown, Filed On: November 7, 2023, Case #: 2:23cv678, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Property, aviation
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court improperly dismissed a breach of contract claim against the aircraft carrier alleging that it intentionally rebooked a passenger's flight to serve a higher-paying customer. The carrier's affirmation that the delay in the passenger's return flight was due to a mechanical issue with the plane does not suffice to disprove the allegations. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 2, 2023, Case #: 05539, Categories: Contract, aviation
J. Gillmor defers ruling on the United States’ Daubert motion to bar testimony in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a man who was killed in a helicopter crash allegedly caused by the air traffic controllers. The government’s expert is permitted to testify at trial, allowing the court to determine the reliability and admissibility after the evidence and testimony is presented. The family’s motion to compel production of certain software are inadequately pleaded.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Gillmor, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv266, NOS: Airplane - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Experts, Wrongful Death, aviation
J. Gillmor declines to grant the United States’ Daubert motion to bar testimony in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a man who was killed in a helicopter crash allegedly caused by air traffic controllers. The challenged expert is a pilot and has no training as an air traffic controller, so he may not testify on air traffic control, duties of care or protocols.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Gillmor, Filed On: October 31, 2023, Case #: 1:20cv265, NOS: Airplane - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Experts, Wrongful Death, aviation
J. Willett finds the district court improperly found in favor of journalists on the pre-enforcement claims brought by various photographers and press organizations who lost income due to the possibility of being sued for flying drones in sensitive airspace. Nothing in the First Amendment or binding precedent permits an unqualified right to conduct aerial surveillance on non-consenting private individuals on private property. The district court properly dismissed the field-preemption claim. Affirmed in part. Vacated and remanded in part. Reversed and remanded in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Willett, Filed On: October 23, 2023, Case #: 22-50337, Categories: Constitution, aviation
J. Kobayashi partially dismisses claims by a helicopter association that says a new state law requiring tour aircraft operators to submit monthly reports about flight information to the state Department of Transportation is preempted by the Federal Aviation Act. The claims against the state are barred by the 11th Amendment, though claims against the DOT director may remain. Though the measure is yet to be fully implemented, the helicopter association did show sufficient potential hardship, as the threat of enforcement is enough for the claims to survive. A claim related to a previous dispute involving FAA regulations is dismissed as it should have been brought as a refiling in the prior case, not a new complaint.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: October 17, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv83, NOS: Constitutionality of State Statutes - Other Suits, Categories: Constitution, Government, aviation
J. Leinenweber denies a Mexican airline’s motion for leave to take a second deposition on this negligence case brought by a survivor of a 2018 airplane crash. The survivor was on the plane headed from Durango, Mexico, to Chicago and she suffered multiple physical and emotional injuries when the airline’s plane crashed shortly after takeoff, including a brain injury. The court grants the survivor’s motion to quash the airline’s subpoena seeking a second deposition.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Leinenweber, Filed On: October 17, 2023, Case #: 1:18cv5540, NOS: Airplane - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Emotional Distress, Experts, aviation
J. Branch denies the individuals' petition for review of the decision by the Federal Aviation Administration greenlighting projects to expand Lakeland Linder International Airport to accommodate a deal leasing an air cargo area to Amazon. The individuals alleged that the FAA violated the National Environmental Policy Act during the approval process by improperly segmenting the projects and conducting inadequate cumulative impacts analyses. The FAA satisfied the Act's requirements and its analysis was rigorous. The individuals failed to show that the FAA broke the projects up to avoid a more difficult environmental review.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Branch, Filed On: October 12, 2023, Case #: 21-14476, Categories: Environment, aviation
J. Foote denies competing requests for summary judgment to the state Motor Vehicle Commission and the Louisiana-based manufacturer regarding whether federal law preempts regulation of a flying vehicle that its manufacturer calls the “MK 3.2,” described as a “special light-sport aircraft,” certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. Neither litigant can meet its burden on whether the MK 3.2 is an All-Terrain Vehicle. The manufacturer argues the state does not have constitutional authority to regulate the MK 3.2 because the motor vehicle commission’s legal authority only allows it to regulate motor vehicles and recreational products, not aircraft like the MK 3.2.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Foote, Filed On: October 2, 2023, Case #: 5:19cv49, NOS: Other Statutory Actions - Other Suits, Categories: Preemption, Vehicle, aviation
J. Kleeh grants the insurance carrier's motion for summary judgment, finding it has no duty to indemnify or defend the aviation ground support company and its CEO in a pending civil suit by a former employee claiming the CEO defamed him after a May 19, 2020, asset acquisition went bad. Any statements the CEO made fall under the "Knowing Violation of Rights of Another and Material Published with Knowledge of Falsity" exclusion in coverage "B" of the company's commercial general liability policy.
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Kleeh, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv40, NOS: Insurance - Contract, Categories: Insurance, Defamation, aviation
J. Finnegan partially grants the airline's motion to compel discovery in this case over whether the airline engaged in discriminatory practices by preferring people of Emirati descent in its employment decisions. The employee is compelled to produce a number of audio recordings, and the associated metadata, of her and other airline employees' conversations.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Finnegan, Filed On: September 12, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv1, NOS: Employment - Civil Rights, Categories: Discovery, Employment Discrimination, aviation
J. Leinenweber denies a Mexican airline's motion for summary judgment on multiple negligence cases, each brought by a survivor of a 2018 airplane crash. The survivors, all of whom were headed from Durango to Chicago, allege suffering multiple physical and emotional injuries when the airline's plane crashed shortly after takeoff. The court finds there are still factual disputes over the causes of these injuries, making summary judgment inappropriate.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Leinenweber, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: 1:19cv118, NOS: Airplane - Torts - Personal Injury, Categories: Negligence, Emotional Distress, aviation