Melgares v. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

• Decision Date: 18 March 2009
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 08-cv-0995 (JCH).,Civil Action No. 08-cv-1002 (JCH).,Civil Action No. 08-cv-1014 (JCH).
• Citation: 613 F.Supp.2d 231
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: Maria Poloma Morales MELGARES, et al., Plaintiffs, v. SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, et al., Defendants.

613 F.Supp.2d 231

Maria Poloma Morales MELGARES, et al., Plaintiffs, v. SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 08-cv-0995 (JCH).

Civil Action No. 08-cv-1002 (JCH).

Civil Action No. 08-cv-1014 (JCH).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

March 18, 2009.

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Joel Thomas Faxon, Stratton Faxon, New Haven, CT, Bradley R. Bowles, Michael P. Verna, Bowles & Verna, LLP Walnut Creek, CA, Stewart I. Edelstein, Cohen & Wolf, P.C., Bridgeport, CT, John M. Socolow, Pino & Associates, LLP, White Plains, NY, Randolph T. Lovallo, Hastings, Cohan, Walsh & Lovallo, Ridgefield, CT, for Plaintiffs.

Frank G. Usseglio, Richard J. Kenny, Kenny, O'Keefe & Usseglio, Hartford, CT, Garrett J. Fitzpatrick, Mendes & Mount, LLP, New York, NY, for Defendants.

RULING RE: DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS (DOC. NOS. 14, 21, & 43)¹

JANET C. HALL, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This is a consolidated product liability action arising out of a July 2006 helicopter crash near Tenerife, Spain that killed six persons. The plaintiffs are the survivors and estate representatives of two of the decedent aircrew members, the survivors and estate representatives of two of the decedent passengers, and the helicopter's insurer (collectively, "the plaintiffs").² The defendants are the helicopter's manufacturer, the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation ("Sikorsky"), and its parent, the United Technologies Corporation ("United Technologies") (collectively, "the defendants").

The plaintiffs allege the defendants violated the Connecticut Products Liability Act, Conn. Gen.Stat. § 52-572m, et seq., as amended, and the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, Conn. Gen.Stat. § 42-110b, et seq., ("CUTPA"). Specifically, the plaintiffs bring claims against the defendants under the theories of negligence, strict product liability, and breach of warranty for the defendants' alleged breach of duties pertaining to the design, manufacture, assembly, inspection, testing, distribution, sale, servicing, maintenance, overhaul, and repair of the helicopter and its component parts, as well as the preparation, writing, approval and/or sale of warnings, instructions, and guidance for use of the helicopter and its component systems.

The defendants have moved to dismiss all three cases on the principle of forum non conveniens and, pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(7), for the failure to join an indispensable party under Fed.R.Civ.P. 19. For the reasons that follow, the defendants' Motions to Dismiss (Doc. Nos. 14, 21, & 43) are granted on the forum non conveniens ground.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

In deciding a motion to dismiss, the court accepts the allegations of a complaint as true and construes them in a manner favorable to the pleader. Hoover v. Ronwin, 466 U.S. 558, 587, 104 S.Ct. 1989, 80 L.Ed.2d 590 (1984); Grandon v. Merrill Lynch & Co., 147 F.3d 184, 188 (2d Cir. 1998). The court must draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor. See, e.g., Yung v. Lee, 432 F.3d 142, 146 (2d Cir. 2005) (discussing Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss); Lunney v. United States, 319 F.3d 550, 554 (2d Cir.2003) (internal citations omitted) (discussing Rule 12(b)(1) motion to dismiss).

The instant Motions to Dismiss are based, inter alia, on the common law doctrine of forum non conveniens. "The principle of forum non conveniens is simply that a court may resist imposition upon its jurisdiction even when jurisdiction is authorized by the letter of a general venue statute." Gulf Oil Corp. v. Gilbert, 330 U.S. 501, 507, 67 S.Ct. 839, 91 L.Ed. 1055 (1947). Thus, forum non conveniens is a discretionary device, which, in rare circumstances, permits a court "to dismiss a claim even if the court is a permissible venue with proper jurisdiction over the claim." Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 226 F.3d 88, 100 (2d Cir.2000) (internal quotation omitted). As such, "[d]ismissal for forum non conveniens reflects a court's assessment of a range of considerations, most notably the convenience to the parties and the practical difficulties that can attend the adjudication of a dispute in a certain locality." Sinochem Int'l Co. v. Malay. Int'l Shipping Corp., 549 U.S. 422, 127 S.Ct. 1184, 167 L.Ed.2d 15 (2007) (internal quotation omitted). "The forum non conveniens determination is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court." Piper Aircraft Co. v. Reyno, 454 U.S. 235, 257, 102 S.Ct. 252, 70 L.Ed.2d 419 (1981).

III. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Overview

On the morning of July 8, 2006, a Sikorsky S-16N helicopter, registration ECFJJ, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. See National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB") Accredited Representative Field Notes, dated July 18, 2006 ("NTSB Field Notes"), Exh: 1 to Affidavit of Robert J. Spragg ("Spragg Affidavit"), at 1. The helicopter carried three crew (two pilots and a mechanic) and three passengers, all of whom were fatally injured in the crash. See id. The decedents included Tania Adia Martinez Zorilla, Alvaro Zapata Morales, Joaquin Ignacio Ortiz de Zarate Perez-Galdos, and Antonio Ruiz y Lacasa, whose survivors and estates are plaintiffs in the instant action.

At the time of the crash, the helicopter was owned and operated by Helicsa-Helicopteros, S.A., a Spanish corporation. See id. at 1-3. The helicopter was insured by plaintiff Banco Vitalicio de Espana Cia. Anonima de Seguros y Reaseguros, who eventually paid out insurance proceeds totaling 3,712,418.00 as a result of the accident. See Complaint, 08-cv-1002 (JCH), at ¶ 28.

At the time of the crash, the helicopter was under contract to the government of Spain and was being used for firefighting duties in the Canary Islands. When the accident occurred, the helicopter was on a positioning flight from the island of La Palma to the island of Gran Canaria, so that maintenance could be performed on one of the helicopter's main rotor blades, which had started to lose nitrogen from its pressurized spar. See id. Accident investigators from Spain, the NTSB, and Sikorsky would eventually focus their inquiry on whether this main rotor blade failed in flight, causing the crash. See, e.g., e-mail from Wilfred A. Alfalla of Sikorsky to William English of the NTSB, dated September 20, 2006, Exh. 2 to Spragg Affidavit, at 1.

The crash was investigated by the Spanish Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission, also known as the Comision de Investigacion de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviacion Civil (the "CIAIAC"). See Spanish Interim Accident Report, Exh. A to Mem. in Supp. of Motion to Dismiss, Doc. No. 15 ("Spanish Interim Accident Report"), at 8. The CIAAC is the national agency responsible for the investigation of all civil aircraft accidents that take place in Spanish territory. The NTSB participated in the crash investigation at the request of the CIAIAC, and Sikorsky participated in the investigation as the NTSB's technical advisor. See NTSB Field Notes at 2.

B. The Helicopter

The Sikorsky model S-61N helicopter that crashed was manufactured by Sikorsky in Stratford, Connecticut in 1966. See Sikorsky Aircraft S-61N Maintenance Manual, SA 4045-80, Exh. 5 to Spragg Affidavit, at Introduction-1; see also, NTSB Field Notes at 3. The Sikorsky model S-61N is a medium-lift helicopter designed to transport cargo and passengers over both land and water. See FAA Approved Rotorcraft Flight Manual ("FAA Rotorcraft Flight Manual"), Exh. 10 to Spragg Affidavit, at 1-1.

The helicopter's main rotor system consists of a rotor head assembly and five main rotor blades. See id. Each main rotor blade is identified by a designated color, in this case, the "yellow," "blue," "red," "black," and "white" blades. See Spanish Interim Accident Report at 6. The blades are of the pressurized spar type, meaning that the spar of each of the main rotor blades is hollow and is pressurized to a specific nitrogen pressure by means of the air valve at the blade's root. See id. Each spar contains a cylindrical pressure indicator on the back of the spar, whose function is to signal low pressure. See FAA Rotorcraft Flight Manual at 1-4. Thus, if nitrogen leaks from the spar—due to a crack or faulty seal, for example—the pressure indicator will pop out, indicating that the pressure in the spar is below allowable service pressure. See id. On a serviceable blade, the pressure indicator will not be visible. See id. This blade pressure indication system is called the visual blade inspection method, also know as the visual BIM³ or the VBIM. See Sikorsky Main and Tail Rotor Blade Inspection Procedure Following BIM Indication, Exh. 11 to Spragg Affidavit, at Introduction-2.

The Sikorsky model S-61N is also equipped with a cockpit blade pressure indication system that illuminates a visual indicator light in the cockpit if the spar pressure in one of the main rotor blades falls below limits. See FAA Rotorcraft Flight Manual at 1-4. This blade pressure indication system is called the cockpit blade inspection method, also known as the cockpit BIM or the CBIM. See Exh. 11 to Spragg Affidavit, at Introduction-2. The CBIM does not, however, indicate which main rotor blade has lost pressure. See FAA Rotorcraft Flight Manual at 1-4. To determine which blade caused the CBIM indicator, one must check the cylindrical pressure indicators of the VBIM system. See id.

C. The Events Leading to the Crash

On July 6, 2006, the helicopter made a positioning flight from Jerez Airport in mainland Spain to La Palma Airport (GCLA) in the Canary Islands. See Spanish Interim Accident Report at 13. This flight involved multiple legs, including one from Agadir (Morocco) to Las Palmas Airport (GCLP). During the Agadir-Las Palmas leg, a CBIM warning light illuminated in the cockpit, indicating that a main rotor blade had lost pressure. See id. After landing at Las Palmas (GCLP), the crew checked the VBIM system, which...