Jenkins v. Whittaker Corp., Civ. No. 80-0195

• Decision Date: 23 August 1982
• Docket Number: 80-0263.,Civ. No. 80-0195
• Citation: Jenkins v. Whittaker Corp., 545 F.Supp. 1117 (D. Haw. 1982)
• Parties: Perry D. JENKINS, Annabelle Jenkins, and Stuart A. Kaneko as Special Administrator of the Estate of Jeffrey Scott Jenkins, Deceased, Plaintiffs, v. WHITTAKER CORPORATION, dba Bermite Corporation, a Division of Whittaker Corporation, a California Corporation, Defendant. Perry D. JENKINS, Annabelle Jenkins, and Stuart A. Kaneko as Special Administrator of the Estate of Jeffrey Scott Jenkins, Deceased, Plaintiffs, v. WHITTAKER CORPORATION, dba Bermite Corporation, a Division of Whittaker Corporation, a California Corporation, John Does 1-10, Doe Corporations 1-10, and Doe Partnerships 1-10, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Hawaii

545 F. Supp. 1117

Perry D. JENKINS, Annabelle Jenkins, and Stuart A. Kaneko as Special Administrator of the Estate of Jeffrey Scott Jenkins, Deceased, Plaintiffs, v.WHITTAKER CORPORATION, dba Bermite Corporation, a Division of Whittaker Corporation, a California Corporation, Defendant.

Perry D. JENKINS, Annabelle Jenkins, and Stuart A. Kaneko as Special Administrator of the Estate of Jeffrey Scott Jenkins, Deceased, Plaintiffs, v.WHITTAKER CORPORATION, dba Bermite Corporation, a Division of Whittaker Corporation, a California Corporation, John Does 1-10, Doe Corporations 1-10, and Doe Partnerships 1-10, Defendants.

Civ. Nos. 80-0195, 80-0263.

United States District Court, D. Hawaii.

August 23, 1982.

Paul F. Cronin, John D. Thomas, Jr., Honolulu, Hawaii, for plaintiffs.

Burnham H. Greeley, Susan P. Walker, Honolulu, Hawaii, Ronald M. Greenberg, Marianne Goodwin, Los Angeles, Cal., for defendants.

AMENDED RULING IN LIMINE RE CHOICE OF LAW

SAMUEL P. KING, Chief Judge.

The parties have requested the Court to make a ruling in limine regarding the choice of law in this wrongful death action.The essential facts are that the plaintiffs' decedent was killed in an explosion at the United States Army's Pohakuloa Training Range on the Island of Hawaii on May 11, 1978.The decedent, Jeffrey Scott Jenkins, was a serviceman involved in a military training exercise when an atomic explosion simulator manufactured by defendantWhittaker Corporation("Whittaker") allegedly malfunctioned, exploded unexpectedly and killed him.

The choice of law question arises from the fact that the decedent's parents, plaintiffs in this suit, are citizens of Indiana, while the defendant is a "citizen" of California, and the allegedly defective device was manufactured and purchased in California.Plaintiffs assert that Hawaii law governs this suit, but the defendant urges the Court to apply either Indiana or California law, principally the latter.

Beyond peradventure, a federal court exercising its diversity jurisdiction must apply the choice of law rules of the state in which it sits.E.g., Klaxon Co. v. Stentor Elec. Mfg. Co.,313 U.S. 487, 61 S.Ct. 1020, 85 L.Ed. 1477(1941).The choice of law in the instant case, therefore, is governed by the only Hawaii case that has adopted choice of law rules, Peters v. Peters,63 Hawaii 653(1981).

Peters was a tort suit in which the choice of law question was whether to apply the inter-spousal tort immunity laws of Hawaii, where the injury occurred, or those of New York, where the parties were residents.Although the facts of Peters bear little relevant resemblance to those in this case, the choice of law principles articulated by the state supreme court nevertheless provide adequate guidance here.

After an extensive discussion of the evolution of choice of law rules in general, the court concluded that: "The preferred analysis, in our...