Wed, Sep 03, 2008
Court Throws Out Appeal By Enginemaker Lycoming
The Supreme Court of Texas has denied an appeal by airplane
engine manufacturer Lycoming, effectively ending a six-year legal
battle with a victory for a Texas company that made aircraft engine
parts.
The law firm of Rose Walker, L.L.P., which represented Navasota,
TX-based Interstate Southwest, Ltd -- says the ruling affirms their
client made no mistakes in manufacturing engine crankshafts for
Lycoming engines that later failed, causing airplane crashes and
deaths, and leading to a worldwide grounding of aircraft.
"This Supreme Court decision means Interstate Southwest wins and
Lycoming loses -- it's as simple as that," says attorney Marty Rose
of Rose*Walker in Dallas, who represents Interstate Southwest. "A
jury of 12 people looked at this and said that Lycoming was to
blame. This decision affirms that."
As ANN reported, in 2005 a jury in Grimes
County, TX found Lycoming, a subsidiary of Providence, RI-based
Textron, liable for fraud, and ordered the company to pay
approximately $96 million to Interstate Southwest. An appeals court
later reduced the amount to cover attorneys' fees only... but left
in place a finding that wiped out Lycoming's $186 million
counterclaim.
The appellate court also upheld the trial court's judgment that
Lycoming's own design defect was the sole cause of the crankshaft
failures, and that Lycoming could not seek indemnity from
Interstate Southwest for any other crankshaft failures. Lycoming
since has been forced to recall thousands of additional crankshafts
after more of them failed, and had wanted Interstate Southwest to
pay for new crankshafts.
The engine failures led to repeated worldwide recalls of most
Lycoming aircraft engines. It also prompted class-action lawsuits
on behalf of airplane owners who sued Lycoming in an attempt to get
the company to accept responsibility.
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