Court Invokes Federal Statute Protecting Aircraft Owners From Certain Liabilities

• Published date: 19 May 2025
• Law Firm: Holland & Knight
• Author: Mr Marc Antonecchia

A New Mexico district court granted an aircraft owner's motion for summary judgment on the basis that the federal statute that protects aircraft owners, lessors and secured parties preempted a state law claim for vicarious liability. The action arose out of a December 2022 ground collision between two aircraft, one owned by the plaintiff and the other by the defendant. At the time of the accident, the defendant's aircraft was en route to California for delivery to a buyer and had landed at a New Mexico airport for refueling. In the process of "hand propping" the engine (because the engine did not have an electric starter), one of the operators lost control. The defendant's aircraft hit the plaintiff's aircraft, causing significant damage.

A plaintiff may seek to file claims against owners, lessors or secured parties in jurisdictions where there are state laws, whether based in statute or common law, that permit vicarious liability. Potential application of these state laws may lead to forum-shopping by plaintiffs, especially where the only basis for a court's jurisdiction is the presence of an owner, lessor or secured party in the state. In this instance, the plaintiff brought a claim of vicarious liability against the owner of the aircraft. The owner moved for summary judgment to dismiss on the basis that the claim was preempted pursuant to a federal statute, 49 U.S.C. 44112(b), which provides:

Liability.-- A lessor, owner, or secured party is liable for personal injury, death, or property loss or damage only when a civil aircraft, aircraft engine, or propeller is in the actual possession or operational control of the lessor, owner, or secured party, and the personal injury...