United States Aviation Underwriters v. Dassault
| Decision Date | 11 May 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 06-CV-206-J.,06-CV-206-J. |
| Citation | 505 F.Supp.2d 1252 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES AVIATION UNDERWRITERS, INC., a New York corporation, Manager, United States Aircraft Insurance Group; Compass Foods, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Jet Aviation, Inc., a Maryland corporation, Plaintiffs, v. DASSAULT AVIATION, a French entity; Societe d'Etudes at de Construction de Monteurs d'Aviation a/k/a Snecma d/b/a Messier-Bugatti, a French entity; Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation, a Delaware corporation; and Does 1 through 500, inclusive, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Wyoming |
Frank D. Neville, Williams Porter Day & Neville, Casper, WY, Jeffrey J. Williams, Jon A. Kodani, Law Offices of Jon A. Kodani, Santa Monica, CA, for Plaintiffs.
David J. Adams, Philip M. Foss, Stephen P. Kenney, Pfeiffer & Adams, Chicago, IL, Richard A. Mincer, Robert Carl Jarosh, Hirst Applegate, Cheyenne, WY, for Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT SNECMA'S MOTION TO DISMISS, ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS DASSAULT AVIATION AND DASSAULT FALCON JET CORP.'S MOTION FOR PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT, ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS DASSAULT AVIATION AND DASSAULT FALCON JET CORP.'S MOTION TO DISMISS THE THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF IN PLAINTIFF'S FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT AND ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THIRD CLAIM FOR DECLARATORY RELIEF
The Motion to Dismiss filed by defendant Societe Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Monteurs d'Aviation, SA ("SNECMA"), filed pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)96), the Motion for Partial Summary Judgment filed by Defendants Dassault Aviation and Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation, the Motion to Dismiss the Third Claim for Relief in Plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint filed by Defendants Dassault Aviation and Dassault Falcon Jet Corp., the plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment on the Third Claim for Declaratory Relief, and the responses and replies of all parties one to the other in opposition and in support of the various motions have come before the Court for consideration. A hearing was held on April 13, 2007 in Cheyenne, Wyoming; counsel for the parties appeared and presented their respective arguments to the Court at the hearing. The Court, having considered the parties' written submissions and the materials offered in support of their respective positions, the arguments of counsel, the pleadings of record, the applicable law, and being fully advised, FINDS and ORDERS as follows:
Background
Plaintiffs' claims arise out of an accident involving a Falcon 900 corporate jet that occurred on February 6, 2001 in Pinedale, Wyoming. Plaintiffs' complaint names as defendants Dassault Aviation, SNECMA d/b/a Messier-Bugatti, and Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation, and five hundred other DOE defendants. Claims asserted in the complaint are styled as product liability and negligence claims against the defendants. The complaint alleges that the "crash caused substantial damage to the Airplane." Complaint ¶ 5.1. The complaint does not allege damage to any person or other property.
The plane at issue is alleged to have been manufactured in France and sold to Plaintiff Compass Foods by defendant Dassault FalconJet corporation by a purchase agreement dated April 14, 1992. The purchase agreement included limited warranty and replacement provisions. These provisions had expired by the time of the accident. The Affidavit of Frederick Alimonti is filed in support of defendant SNECMA's motion to dismiss, which sets out the provisions of the purchase agreement's limited warranty and disclaimer. (Document 103-1.)
The disclaimer provides:
FALCON JET CORPORATION MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDES THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE. ALL OTHER OBLIGATIONS OR LIABILITIES OF FALCON JET CORPORATION, INCLUDING CONSEQUENTIAL OR OTHER DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE SALE, USE OR OPERATION OF THE AIRCRAFT ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED BY FALCON JET CORPORATION
AND HEREBY WAIVED BY PURCHASER. THIS DISCLAIMER IS NOT INTENDED TO LIMIT PURCHASER'S REMEDIES RELATED TO BONA FIDE CLAIMS AGAINST SELLER FOR NEGLIGENCE OR STRICT PRODUCT LIABILITY.
The purchase agreement includes a choice of law provision as well at ¶ 19:
Both parties agree that this contract shall be interpreted under and performance shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, United States of America.
In 2003 a complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. The complaint named the same defendants, and related background information regarding purchase of the airplane and the crash in Pinedale, Wyoming. The First Count was a strict product liability count against all defendants; the Second Count was a negligence count against all defendants. Neither count alleged harm to persons or property other than the airplane. Plaintiffs reside in New Jersey. New Jersey is the state where the Purchase Agreement was executed and performed and also the state forum designated by the contract's choice of law clause. Defendant states that the New Jersey action was withdrawn without prejudice to re-filing.
On December 16, 2003, a Complaint and Demand for Trial by Jury was filed with the District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Arkansas is a place of business of Dassault Falcon Jet. That complaint also names the same defendants as the. New Jersey complaint, and describes the airplane and the crash. The First Claim for Relief is a strict product liability claim against all defendants; the Second Claim for Relief is a negligence claim against all defendants. Nothing in the complaint alleges harm to persons or property other than the plane involved in the Pinedale, Wyoming crash in 2001.
On September 28, 2005, the United States District Court for the District of Arkansas transferred the action to the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming (Document 103-1, Ex. C at 32-44); July 6, 2006 the Arkansas District Court entered its Order denying the plaintiffs' motion for reconsideration of the transfer order. (Document 103-1, Ex. D at 46-51.) The Arkansas complaint does not assert any warranty or contractual claims against any of the defendants, including SNECMA.
Following transfer to this Court, the Court permitted plaintiffs to file a First Amended Complaint. The claims asserted in the first amended complaint are as follows:
First Claim for Relief: Strict Product Liability by all plaintiffs against all defendants
Second Claim for Relief: Negligence by all plaintiffs against all defendants
Third Claim for Relief: Declaratory Relief by plaintiffs UASU and Compass Foods, Inc., only against Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation only (pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201)
Fourth Claim for Relief: Breach of Written Contract by plaintiffs. USAU and Compass Foods, Inc. only against Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation only Fifth Claim for Relief: Breach of Warranties by all plaintiffs against Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation and Dassault Aviation only
Sixth Claim for Relief: Breach of the Implied Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing by plaintiffs USAU and Compass Foods, Inc. only against Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation only
by Third Person by plaintiffs USAU and Compass Foods, Inc. only against Dassault Aviation only
Plaintiffs seek declaratory relief, general and compensatory damages, special damages including damages for out of pocket expenses, incidental and consequential damages, prejudgment interest, costs of suit and reasonable attorneys fees.
SNECMA has denied plaintiffs' allegations of the first amended complaint; asserts affirmative defenses including failure to state a claim against SNECMA; lack of personal jurisdiction over SNECMA immunity attendant to its foreign sovereign status; plaintiffs' damages were solely and proximately caused by the independent, intervening or superseding acts or omissions of other parties or persons for which SNECMA is not liable and over which it has no control; offset by the amount of other insurance plaintiffs procured or could have procured; plaintiffs damages were caused or contributed to by plaintiffs' own fault, assumption of risk, want of due care; fault, neglect and want of due care of persons or parties other than SNECMA; SNECMA is a holding company not directly engaged in any manufacturing; damages claimed by plaintiffs are limited or not recoverable under applicable law; and the economic loss doctrine bars plaintiffs' damages.
Dassault Aviation has generally denied the allegations of the first amended complaint that are directed to Dassault Aviation, which include the first (strict liability), second (negligence), fifth (breach of warranty), seventh (intentional interference with performance of contract by third person) claims for relief. Affirmative defenses include failure to state a claim, lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficiency of service of process, improper venue, comparative fault — all actors, comparative fault-plaintiffs; plaintiffs' fault bars recovery, acts or omissions by Dassault Aviation not proximate cause of events and happenings referred to in plaintiffs' first amended complaint; intervening and superseding cause; unfortunate accident, third parties' fault was intervening proximate cause; one or more of the plaintiffs not real party in interest; fifth and seventh claims barred by statute of limitations; estoppel, waiver and/or laches; and, failure to mitigate their damages.
Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation also generally denies the allegations of the first amended complaint that are asserted against it, including the first (strict product liability), second (negligence), third (declaratory relief as to Dassault Falcon Jet Corp only), fourth (breach of written contract as to Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. only), fifth (breach of warranties against Dassault Falcon Jet...
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