United States Third Circuit

In plaintiff's lawsuit against an airline company for injuries he sustained when he fell while disembarking from an airplane, district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendant on the ground of preemption is reversed as standard of care in plaintiff's negligence claim is not preempted by federal law where: 1) although Abdullah v. American Airlines, Inc. 181 F.3d 363 (3d Cir. 1999) stated that the Aviation Act preempts "the entire field of aviation safety" from state regulation, the "field of aviation safety" does not include a flight crew's oversight of the disembarkation of passengers once a plane has come to a complete stop at its destination; 2) the Aviation Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder to not preempt state tort law with respect to such negligence claims; and 3) the federally enacted Air Carrier Access Act and its implementing regulations do not control the standard of care from the standpoint of airline safety.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/12/2010
• Published 05/12/2010

Judges

Court

• United States Third Circuit

Counsel