Carpenter v. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

101 F. Supp. 3d 911, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54946, 2015 WL 1893146
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedApril 27, 2015
DocketCase No. LA CV14-07793 JAK (AJWx)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 101 F. Supp. 3d 911 (Carpenter v. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carpenter v. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., 101 F. Supp. 3d 911, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54946, 2015 WL 1893146 (C.D. Cal. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER RE DEFENDANTS BAE SYSTEMS, INC., ET AL.’S MOTION TO DISMISS (DKT. 16); DEFENDANT PROTOTYPE ENGINEERING AND MANUFACTURING, INC.’S MOTION TO DISMISS COMPLAINT AND JOINDER TO BAE SYSTEMS’ MOTION TO DISMISS (DKT. 18); and DEFENDANTS SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION, ET AL.’S MOTION TO DISMISS (DKT. 20)

JOHN A. KRONSTADT, District Judge.

I. Introduction

On September 8, 2014, Colette Carpenter, individually and as administrator of the estate of Clayton O. Carpenter, Jon Ternstrom, Maria Ternstrom, Cameron Witzler and Michelle Witzler (collectively, “Plaintiffs”) brought this action as a result of the death to one and serious injuries to others that resulted from the crash of a helicopter in Georgia. Complaint (“Compl.”), Dkt. 1-1, Ex. A. The Complaint advances three causes of action: (1) strict liability; (2) breach of warranty; and (3) negligence. Id. The Complaint names as defendants entities allegedly responsible for manufacturing, inspecting and maintaining the helicopter involved in the crash. Id. They are: Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. and Sikorsky Aerospace Maintenance (collectively, “Sikorsky Defendants”); Prototype Engineering and Manufacturing, Inc. (“Prototype”); Cubic Defense Applications, Inc. (“Cubic”); and BAE Systems, Inc., BAE Systems Simula, Inc. and BAE Systems Aerospace & Defense Group, Inc. (collectively, “BAE Defendants”). Id.1 The BAE Defendants, Prototype and Sikorsky Defendants each filed a motion to dismiss (“Motions”). Dkt. 16; Dkt. 18; Dkt. 20. Plaintiffs opposed the Motions. Dkt. 53; Dkt. 54; Dkt. 55.

A hearing on the Motions was held on March 9, 2015 and they were taken under submission. For the reasons stated in this Order, the respective Motions of the BAE and the Sikorsky Defendants are GRANTED as to the lack of personal jurisdiction. The Motion brought by Protoype is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Thus, the Motion is DENIED without prejudice as to whether this matter presents a non-justiciable, political question. The Motion is GRANTED pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) without prejudice to the filing of an amended complaint.

II. Procedural Background

Plaintiffs filed the Complaint on September 8, 2014 in the Los Angeles Superior Court. Compl., Dkt. 1-1, Ex. A. On October 8, 2014, the BAE Defendants removed the action. Dkt. 1. Prototype, the Sikorsky Defendants and Cubic joined in the removal. Dkt. 4; Dkt. 6; Dkt. 10. The BAE Defendants asserted federal subject [917]*917matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1441(a). Dkt. 1 at 1. They contend that there is original subject matter jurisdiction because the helicopter crashed in a federal enclave. 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Id.; see also Compl. ¶27 (acknowledging that the incident occurred on federal land and that Georgia substantive law governs under 16 U.S.C. § -457 (repealed Dec. 19, 2014)).2

Cubic answered. Dkt. 19. On October 15, 2014, the BAE Defendants, Prototype and the Sikorsky Defendants (the “Moving Defendants”) moved to dismiss. Dkt. 16 (“BAE Motion”); Dkt. 18 (“Prototype Motion” and Joinder in BAE Motion); Dkt. 20 (“Sikorsky Motion”).

On October 31, 2014, the Court granted a request by the parties (Dkt. 29) to permit Plaintiffs to conduct jurisdictional discovery over a 90-day period. Dkt. 30. On January 6, 2015, Plaintiffs filed an unopposed ex parte application in which they requested an additional 60 days to complete jurisdictional discovery. Dkt. 44. That application was granted, in part, on January 7, 2015. Dkt. 47. Thereafter, Plaintiffs filed oppositions to the Motions. Dkt. 53-55. The Moving Defendants replied. Dkt. 57-59.

III. Factual Background

A. Factual Allegations in the Complaint

On January 15, 2014, Clayton Carpenter (“Carpenter”), Jon Ternstrom (“Ternstrom”) and Cameron Witzler (“Witzler”) operated an MH-60M Blackhawk helicopter, Tail Number 05-20005 (the “Helicopter”) on a planned flight from St. Augustine, Florida to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia (“Hunter”). Compl. ¶¶28, 45. Ternstrom was the pilot-in-command. Id. ¶ 45. Carpenter was the co-pilot. Id. Witzler was the crew chief. Id.

As the Helicopter approached Hunter, it suddenly “experienced, inter alia, a failure of the Tail Rotor Pitch Change Shaft and began to rotate.” Id. ¶ 46. Carpenter, Ternstrom and Witzler made unsuccessful attempts to stop this rotation. Id. The Helicopter spun out of control and crashed. Id. Carpenter suffered severe injuries and died shortly after the crash. Id. ¶ 47. Ternstrom and Witzler suffered severe injuries, but survived. Id. ¶¶ 47-48.

Plaintiffs allege that the crash was caused by defects in the tail rotor pitch change shaft and related systems. Id. ¶ 32. Plaintiffs also contend that the injuries sustained by Carpenter, Ternstrom and Witzler were caused, in part, by the failure of their seats to “absorb or otherwise attenuate the force of the impact, as they were designed, manufactured and held out to do.” Id. ¶ 50. The Complaint also alleges that the Electronic Locator Transmitter (“ELT”) failed to alert Air Traffic Control that a crash had occurred. Id. ¶ 51. The Complaint alleges that, as a result, “valuable time was lost because air traffic control and others were not promptly put on notice of the crash, and emergency vehicles were not immediately dispatched to the scene to render medical aid to the injured crew.” Id.

The Complaint does not make separate allegations at to the conduct of each named defendant. Instead, it alleges that each “among other things, designed, manufactured, tested, inspected, assembled, instructed, maintained, trained, distributed, advertised, marketed, warranted, and sold [918]*918[the Helicopter] and/or its component parts.” Id. ¶¶ 11, 13, 15, 19.

B. Jurisdictional Allegations and Evidence Presented by the Parties

The Sikorsky and BAE Defendants contend that there is no personal jurisdiction in this District.3 The resulting issues are addressed separately as to each of these parties;

1. The BAE Defendants

a) Plaintiffs’ Allegations and Contentions The Complaint alleges that BAE Systems, Inc. is a Delaware corporation that is registered with the California Secretary of State. Compl. ¶ 16. It also alleges that BAE Systems, Inc. does business in Ontario, California. Id. The Complaint alleges that BAE Systems Simula, Inc. is an Arizona corporation. Id. ¶ 17. It also alleges that BAE Systems Simula, Inc. does business in California. Id. Finally, the Complaint alleges that BAE Systems Aerospace & Defense Group, Inc. is an Arizona corporation, which does business in Arizona. Id. ¶ 18.

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Bluebook (online)
101 F. Supp. 3d 911, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54946, 2015 WL 1893146, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carpenter-v-sikorsky-aircraft-corp-cacd-2015.