In re Aircraft Accident at Little Rock, Arkansas, 4:99-CV-1308.

• Decision Date: 20 November 2002
• Docket Number: No. 4:99-CV-1308.,MDL No. 1308.,4:99-CV-1308.
• Citation: In re Aircraft Accident at Little Rock, Arkansas, 231 F.Supp.2d 852 (E.D. Ark. 2002)
• Parties: In re AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT AT LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, JUNE 1, 1999.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Arkansas

231 F.Supp.2d 852

In re AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT AT LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS, JUNE 1, 1999.

No. 4:99-CV-1308.

MDL No. 1308.

United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Western Division.

November 20, 2002.

Michael E. Hale, Glenn W. Jones, D. Keith Fortner, Barber, McCaskill, Jones & Hale, P.A., Philip E. Kaplan, Regina Haralson, Kaplan, Brewer & Maxey, P.A., Michael Norris Shannon, Scott J. Lancaster, J. Phillip Malcom, William H. Sutton, Friday, Eldredge & Clark, Byron L. Freeland, Marshall S. Ney, Mitchell, Williams, Selog, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C., Little Rock, AR, Ted Boswell, James Ralph Jackson, Boswell, Tucker & Brewster, Bryant, AR, Sam Hilburn, Hilburn, Calhoon, Harper, Pruniski & Calhoun, Ltd., North Little Rock, AR, Debbie Dudley Branson, Frank L. Branson, Frank L. Branson L. Branson, P.C., Dallas, TX, Peter A. Miller, Attorney at Law, Michael G. Smith, Dover Dixon Horne, PLLC, Little Rock, AR, Kathlynn G. Fadely, Barry F. Benson, Gary W. Allen, U.S. Department of Justice, Mark B. Baylen, Federal Aviation Administration Litigation Division, Washington, DC, John R. Howie, Ladd Sanger, Elizabeth Florence, Howie & Sweeney, L.L.P., John H. Martin, Jennifer P. Henry, George Lucas Ashley, Maureen A. Murry, Thompson & Knight, L.L.P., Dallas, TX, R. Bryant Marshall, Marshall & Owens, P.A., Jonesboro, AR, Norman R. Gordon, Norman R. Gordon & Associates, Shreveport, LA, C. Burt Newell, Bachelor & Newell, Hot Springs, AR, Mark F. Hampton, Hampton & Larkowski, David H. Williams, Attorney at Law, Little Rock, AR, Camille Nicodemus, Kasowitz, Benson, Torres, Friedman, L.L.P., New York City, Scott C. Trotter, G. Alan Perkins, Hill, Gilstrap, Perkins & Trotter, Little Rock, AR, Jimmy W. Evans, Steve Maxwell, Michael D. Schattman, Hill Gilstrap, Arlington, TX, Katherine A. Staton, Jackson Walker L.L.P., Dallas, TX, Robert A. Clifford, Kevin P. Durkin, Clifford Law Offices, P.C., Chicago, IL, Randal R. Craft, Jr., William C. Brown, III, Louise B. Cobbs, Alan D. Reitzfeld, Holland & Knight, LLP, New York City, James W. Orr, Bowers, Orr & Dougall, L.L.P., Columbia, SC, Gene A. Ludwig, Ludwig Law Firm, PLC, Little Rock, AR, Michael G. McQuillen, James F. Murphy, Peter V. Bustamante, Adler, Murphy & McQuillen, Chicago, IL, Robert Stockton, Carr & Carr, Tulsa, OK, Nelson P. Miller, Fajen & Miller, P.L.L.C., Grand Haven, MI, Gerald Sterns, Elizabeth Walker, Sterns & Walker, Oakland, CA, Michael L. Slack, John C. Allman, Donna Bowen, Slack & Davis, L.L.P., Austin, TX, David Cook, Kreindler & Kreindler, New York City, Kent Krause, Speiser, Krause, R. Brent Cooper, Cooper & Scully, Dallas, TX Charles L. Coleman, III, Mark L. Venardi, Holland & Knight LLP, San Francisco, CA, William M. Bache, Monroe & Associates, Tucson, AZ, John A. Greaves, Baum Hedlund, Aristei Guilford & Downey, Los Angeles, CA, Collin M. Fritz, Trecker & Fritz, Honolulu, HI, D. Douglas Cotton, American Airlines, Inc., Fort Worth, TX, Thomas J. Morris, III, Morris & Powell, Ponca City, OK, Matthew H.P. Warner, Graves Warner, PLC, Little Rock, AR, Robert R. Bodoin, Andrew Piel, Bodoin, Burnside & Burge, P.C., Fort Worth, TX, George A. Manfredi, Daniel A. Johnson, Daniel M. Sullivan, Sullivan, Johnson & Manfredi, LLP, Los Angeles, CA, David L. Sandweiss, Attorney at Law, Phoenix, AZ, David E. Rapoport, Paul D. Richter, Rapoport Law Offices, P.C., Chicago, IL, David A. Couch, Couch O'Quinn, PLLC, Rickey H. Hicks, Attorney at Law, Little Rock, AR, George Quesada, Sommerman, Moore, Mitchell & Quesada, L.L.P., Dallas, TX, for Air Crash at Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 1, 1999.

Jennifer P. Henry, Thompson & Knight, L.L.P., Dallas, TX, Eric Steinle, Felicia C. Curran, Brenda D. Posada, Sterns & Walker, Oakland, CA, for American Airlines, Inc.

Richard M. Pence, Jr., U.S. Attorney's Office, Little Rock, AR, Barry F. Benson, Terence M. Healy, Jill Dahlmann Rosa, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for U.S.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

EISELE, District Judge.

I. Introduction

Before the Court is the Defendant American Airlines, Inc.'s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Dismissing Plaintiffs' Claims for Punitive Damages in all Domestic Actions (Doc. No. 117), filed April 2, 2001. On June 29, 2001, the Plaintiffs responded (Doc. No. 125), and on September 4, 2001, the Defendant filed a reply thereto (Doc. No. 130). In ruling on the issues raised in the instant motion, the Court has considered the entire summary judgment record, and in particular the following:

(1) Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Law Regarding a Choice of Law Ruling Applying the Law of Arkansas to the Issue of Punitive Damages in all Domestic Cases Against American Airlines (Doc. No. 13), filed March 1, 2000;

(2) Memorandum of Law Submitted by American Airlines, Inc. in Response to Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Law Regarding the Choice of Law for Determining Liability for Punitive Damages in all Domestic Actions Against American Airlines (Doc. No. 23), filed April 3, 2000;

(3) Plaintiffs' Reply Regarding the Choice of Law Ruling Applying the Law of Arkansas to the Issue of Punitive Damages in all Domestic Cases Against American Airlines (Doc. No. 28), filed April 13, 2000;

(4) Sur-Reply Submitted by American Airlines, Inc. Regarding the Choice of Law for Determining Liability for Punitive Damages in all Domestic Actions Against American Airlines (Doc. No. 39), filed May 5, 2000;

(5) Supplemental Memorandum Submitted by American Airlines, Inc. Regarding the Choice of Law for Determining Liability for Punitive Damages in all Domestic Actions Against American Airlines (Doc. No. 106), filed December 4, 2000;

(6) Plaintiffs' Supplemental Memorandum of Law Regarding Choice of Law for Domestic Passenger Punitive Damages Claims Against American Airlines (Doc. No. 111), filed December 21, 2000 (7) Memorandum of Law in Support of American Airlines, Inc.'s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Dismissing Plaintiffs' Claims for Punitive Damages in all Domestic Actions (Doc. No. 118), filed April 2, 2001;

(8) Exhibits in Support of American Airlines, Inc.'s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Dismissing Plaintiffs' Claims for Punitive Damages in all Domestic Actions (Doc. No. 119), filed April 2, 2001;

(9) Statement of Material Facts Submitted by American Airlines, Inc. in Support of its Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Dismissing Plaintiffs' Claims for Punitive Damages in all Domestic Actions (Doc. No. 120), filed April 2, 2001;

(10) Exhibits in Support of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee's Response to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, volumes I and II, (Doc. No. 126), filed June 29, 2001;

(11) Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts (Doc. No. 127), filed June 29, 2001;

(12) American Airlines, Inc.'s Objections to Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts (Doc. No. 131), filed September 4, 2001;

(13) Second Supplemental Memorandum Submitted by American Airlines, Inc. Regarding the Choice of Law for Determining Liability for Punitive Damages in all Domestic Actions Against American Airlines (Doc. No. 132), filed September 4, 2001;

(14) Plaintiffs' attorney Robert R. Bodoin's April 19, 2002, letter to the Court;

(15) Plaintiffs' attorney Frank L. Branson's April 25, 2002, letter to the Court;

(16) Defendant's attorney John H. Martin's April 25, 2002, letter to the Court; and

(17) Defendant's attorney John H. Martin's May 3, 2002, letter to the Court.

In addition the Court also reviewed the transcripts of four in-court hearings conducted by Judge Henry Woods on January 31, 2000, June 1, 2000, August 1, 2000, and December 11, 2000.¹

After considering the summary judgment record and the applicable law the Court concludes that the Defendant American Airlines, Inc.'s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Dismissing Plaintiffs' Claims for Punitive Damages in all Domestic Actions must be granted.

II. Procedural Background

This MDL arises from a June 1, 1999, incident in which an American Airlines MD-82 jet aircraft, being operated as Flight 1420 from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Little Rock National Airport, departed the runway and crashed into a non-frangible light stanchion and broke apart after touching down at Little Rock. The incident occurred at night and in stormy weather conditions. Flight 1420 carried 145 individuals: 139 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants. Ten passengers and the chief pilot received fatal injuries, many of the other passengers were seriously injured, and the aircraft was destroyed.

On December 15, 1999, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated the various federal lawsuits filed in regards to the crash into the instant MDL. The MDL was assigned to Judge Henry Woods's docket. In their various suits the Plaintiffs generally sought compensatory damages and requested that punitive damages be assessed against the Defendant. Early in the proceedings Judge Woods determined that the compensatory damages claims should be bifurcated from the punitive damages claims, and resolved first.

The Plaintiffs were also separated into two groups: domestic and international passengers. The Court concluded that under the terms of the Warsaw Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Transportation by Air, Oct. 12, 1929, 49 Stat. 3000, 876 U.N.T.S. 11 (1934), reprinted at 49 U.S.C. § 40105 (note) ("Warsaw Convention"), the international passengers were as a matter of law prohibited from recovering punitive damages. Thus, the Court concluded, only the domestic passengers would be permitted to pursue their punitive damages claims. See, e.g., In re Air Crash at Little Rock, Arkansas, on June 1, 1999, 109 F.Supp.2d 1022, 1024 (E.D.Ark.2000) ("The pertinent part of the Warsaw Convention, as it applies to the instant litigation, provides that punitive damages are barred in suits by international passengers. This is the holding of three United States Court of Appeals. See, Floyd v. Eastern Airlines, 872 F.2d 1462 (...