Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 17, 1991 TAG: 9104170676
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
The justices unanimously ruled that Eastern Airlines - now owned by Texas Air - can not be forced to pay passengers aboard a flight that landed safely in Miami after all the plane's engines failed for a time in the air.
Justice Thurgood Marshall, writing for the court, said the Warsaw Convention international air travel treaty does not permit airlines to be sued in such cases by passengers who suffer only psychic trauma.
Today's ruling applies only to international flights. The court did not address the issue of state court lawsuits for emotional distress by passengers on domestic flights.
In other action, the court:
Said S&Ls and other financial institutions may claim tax deductions for "reciprocal sales" of mortgage loans. That 7-2 decision, a defeat for the Internal Revenue Service, will save S&Ls at least $419 million in disputed tax assessments.
The court ruled unanimously in another case that the money S&Ls receive from depositors who pay penalties for early withdrawals is taxable. That decision will cost some S&Ls at least $128 million plus interest, government lawyers said.
Allowed businesses to specify in contracts with their customers where they can, or cannot, be sued.
By a 7-2 vote, the justices barred a Washington state woman from suing in federal court in her home state a cruise ship line based in Miami.
In the airline case, lawyers for Eastern told the high court that in most states passengers on domestic flights who can prove negligence - but not willful misconduct - are barred from recovering damages for mental anguish unaccompanied by physical injury.
The Warsaw Convention requires airlines to pay up to $75,000 per person depending on the severity of the injuries in air accidents. That ceiling is lifted only if an airline is shown to have committed willful misconduct.
The high court today reversed a ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which permitted money damages in the case of Eastern flight 855, which left Miami on May 5, 1983, for Nassau, Bahamas.
When one of the plane's three engines lost pressure, the crew shut it down and headed back to Miami. Then the second and third engines failed. As the plane headed down, crew members told the passengers they would have to ditch the plane in the Atlantic Ocean.
After a while, the crew was able to restart the engine that failed initially and landed the plane safely at Miami International Airport.
Eastern was sued in both Florida state and federal courts by 28 passengers who said oil leaked from the engines because mechanics failed to install O-ring seals.
by CNB