United States Aviation Underwriters v. National Insurance Underwriters
Wisconsin Court of Appeals
344 N.W.2d 532 (1984)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
A Piper Lance and a Piper Arrow both attempted to land on the same runway at the same time. Neither pilot saw the other aircraft. The Arrow was traveling at a lower altitude, and the Lance ended up landing on top of the Arrow. Both planes were destroyed. United States Aviation Underwriters, Inc. (Aviation Underwriters) (plaintiff) insured the Arrow, and National Insurance Underwriters (National Insurance) (defendant) insured the Lance. Aviation Underwriters and the owner of the Arrow sued National Insurance and the owner of the Lance for the damages to the Arrow, arguing that the Lance’s pilot had committed negligence per se, i.e., negligence as a matter of law, by violating the federal regulation requiring all planes to yield the right-of-way to lower-altitude aircraft while landing. Although the undisputed evidence established that the Lance’s pilot had failed to yield the right-of-way and violated this regulation, the trial court declined to rule that the failure was negligence per se. Instead, the issue of whether the Lance’s pilot acted negligently was submitted to a jury. The jury found that the Lance’s pilot was not negligent and awarded no damages. The trial court entered judgment for National Insurance and the Lance’s owner. Aviation Underwriters and the Arrow’s owner appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Scott, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 783,000 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.
