Allows Both Parties The Right To Seek Costs

Aero-News has reviewed, and verified as accurate, documents dated October 13, 2008 from the Court of Appeals of the State Of Washington... that show a controversial ruling against the Experimental Aircraft Association and the Northwest EAA Fly-In, stemming from a July 1999 takeoff accident during the Arlington Fly-In, has been overturned on appeal.

"We reverse the judgment in favor of Corbitt and remand for entry of judgment in favor of NWEAA and EAA," reads the last line of the 17-page filing, obtained by ANN.

As ANN reported, a Snohomish County Superior Court jury awarded $10.5 million to the family of Don Allen Corbitt, the pilot who died in the July 7, 1999 accident at the Northwest EAA Fly-In. The jury determined both the national Experimental Aircraft Association, as well as the regional EAA chapter, were responsible for a large percentage of the damages.

That decision flew in the face of determinations made by the National Transportation Safety Board... which ruled "the pilot's excessive climb rate, which lead to his failure to maintain an airspeed above stalling speed (Vs)" was the probable cause of the takeoff crash. "Factors include the pilot's lack of total experience in the aircraft make and model," the NTSB added.

Corbitt's widow sued NWEAA and EAA, as well as the City of Arlington, in June 2002... alleging all three were negligent for "failing to adequately respond to Mr. Corbitt's accident" and failing "to provide adequate fire, rescue, and emergency response for the fly-in." The plaintiff argued all three were liable "because the defendants owned, managed, leased, or otherwise controlled" the land where Corbitt's aircraft crashed (shown in the image below).

The court later granted a June 2004 motion filed by the City of Arlington, seeking a summary judgment removing it from all responsibility. A similar request for summary judgment filed by NWEAA and EAA was denied, however.

In January 2007, a jury returned a $10.5 million verdict against all three entities, stating they each bore responsibility for the accident, and Corbitt's subsequent death in a post-impact fire. The jury apportioned fault "at 45 percent to NWEAA, 40 percent to EAA, and 15 percent to the City of Arlington." The judge later reduced the amount of damages by 15 percent, which eliminated Arlington's obligation to repay its share of the verdict award.

NWEAA and EAA appealed that decision, as well as the earlier ruling against those entities' summary judgment request. Corbitt's widow, in turn, appealed the judge's reduction of the damages... though she did not appeal the earlier ruling of summary judgment in favor of the city.

In its ruling issued Monday, the Appeals Court sided with NWEAA and EAA on the matter of summary judgment... effectively rendering the later jury verdict null and void.

"A cause of action in negligence requires that a plantiff establish the existence of a duty owed, the breach of that duty, a resulting injury, and the proximate cause between the breach and the injury," the court wrote. "...But NWAA and EAA did not control the portion of the airport where Mr. Corbitt crashed. Nothing in the report supports a conclusion that NWEAA was in control of the fire or first aid personnel.

"We find no basis in Washington law to hold that NWEAA, as a possessor of land, had a duty to provide first-aid services to Mr. Corbitt, a business invitee, once he had left the premises possessed by NWEAA," the court added. "We hold that as a matter of law, NWEAA and EAA were entitled to summary judgment on the issue of duty."

The court adds that counsel may file a motion for reconsideration of the Appeals Court ruling within 20 days. NWEAA and EAA may also file a claim for costs incurred in fighting the lawsuit within 10 days of the ruling.

Even if the court's decision is upheld and NWEAA and EAA are cleared of any wrongdoing, once-and-for-all, things will never be the same for EAA, or the organizers of regional fly-ins.

Over the past year, EAA has renegotiated contracts with all fly-ins that once freely used "EAA" in their names, even if those events weren't EAA-sanctioned events. The EAA's new policy shuns any implied sponsorship of regional fly-ins, by removing 'EAA' from those events' titles.

EAA will continue to maintain most of its support for those shows, including promotional duties and sponsorship of aviation educational activities such as forums and workshops... but where the new policy hurts organizers most, is in the matter of insurance.

In the past, EAA arranged for insurance coverage for regional fly-ins as part of its overall av-insurance plan. Regional organizers would then reimburse EAA for their portion of insurance costs -- meaning, in essence, fly-ins benefited from paying the EAA's rates. Under the new agreement, regional fly-in events must secure their own insurance, often at significantly higher costs.

That decision came as a direct result of the January 2007 jury verdict.

FMI: www.courts.wa.gov/, www.nweaa.org, www.eaa.org, www.air-law.com, Read The NTSB Probable Cause Report