Jorgensen v. Massachusetts Port Authority
United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
905 F.2d 515 (1990)
- Written by Sharon Feldman, JD
Facts
Donald Hertzfelt and Peter Langley (the pilots) (plaintiffs) were the pilots of a jet that skidded off an icy runway. The pilots sued the airport operator, Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) (defendant) for negligently maintaining the runway and sought damages for physical injury, lost wages, lost future earning capacity, and emotional distress resulting from harm to their reputations and earning capacity. The jury found for the pilots. The court set aside the awards for lost earning capacity and emotional distress resulting from reputational harm, reasoning that damages for reputational loss were not recoverable in an ordinary negligence case, and that even if such damages were recoverable, the pilots had presented insufficient evidence to support their claims. The pilots appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Bownes, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 820,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 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.
