From our private database of 35,600+ case briefs...
Airbus Industrie G.I.E. v. Patel
House of Lords
[1998] UKHL 12, 1 AC 119 (H.L.) (1998)
Facts
A plane crash caused by pilot error at the Bangalore airport in India killed and injured many passengers. Two Indian families were on board. All members of both families were British citizens and resided in London. Four members of the families were killed, and four were injured. The four injured family members (the British victims) (defendants) filed suit in India against India Airline Corporation and Hindustan Aeronautics, Ltd. The British victims filed another lawsuit in Texas against various parties potentially connected to the crash, including Airbus Industrie G.I.E. (Airbus) (plaintiff). The British victims’ case was consolidated with other proceedings filed in Texas on behalf of three American crash victims. Texas did not recognize the principle of forum non conveniens. Airbus initiated proceedings in a Bangalore court against the British victims and the American victims. The Bangalore judge barred the British victims and American victims from pursuing proceedings or claiming damages against Airbus anywhere except India. Because the Bangalore court had no jurisdiction over the British victims and American victims, the order was unenforceable against them. Airbus filed suit in England seeking enforcement of the Bangalore judgment against the British victims and requesting an injunction prohibiting the British victims from pursuing the Texas case. The trial judge denied Airbus’s request. The appellate court reversed. The British victims appealed to the House of Lords.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Goff, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 619,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 35,600 briefs, keyed to 984 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.