Turbines, Inc. v. Dardis
Texas Court of Appeals
1 S.W.3d 726 (1999)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
Turbines, Inc. (defendant) overhauled an engine, and another company then installed the engine in an airplane. While flying the airplane back to its owner, pilot Van Dardis (plaintiff) took off from a runway as three experienced pilots watched from the ground. Dardis made a short takeoff roll and was ascending at a steep angle when he turned sharply to reverse direction. At that point, according to Dardis, the engine stopped. The plane fell to the ground. The experienced pilot-witnesses all agreed that the airplane’s engine sound had never stopped, which would be more consistent with the plane stalling because of pilot error, not engine failure. Dardis sued Turbines, alleging that a bleed valve in the engine might have malfunctioned and caused the engine to shut down and that Turbines might have been able to do more to prevent the malfunction. However, Dardis never presented any expert evidence that (1) established the standard of care a reasonable aircraft-engine mechanic would have used or (2) showed that Turbines had breached that standard. The jury returned a verdict against Turbines under theories of products liability, negligence, and res ipsa loquitur. Turbines appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Boyd, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 781,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 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.
