Meyer v. United Airlines, Inc.

112 N.E.3d 487, 2018 Ohio 259
CourtCourt of Appeals of Ohio, Sixth District, Lucas County
DecidedJune 29, 2018
DocketNo. L-17-1176
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 112 N.E.3d 487 (Meyer v. United Airlines, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Ohio, Sixth District, Lucas County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Meyer v. United Airlines, Inc., 112 N.E.3d 487, 2018 Ohio 259 (Ohio Super. Ct. 2018).

Opinion

SINGER, J.

*488{¶ 1} Appellants, Marc and Paula Meyer, appeal the June 14, 2017 summary judgment of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas granted in favor of appellee, United Airlines Inc. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

Assignments of Error

{¶ 2} Appellants set forth the following assignments of error:

1. The Court erred in granting Summary Judgment to Defendant United Airlines, Inc. when Plaintiffs have pointed to evidence showing United violated Federal Aviation Regulations and it is axiomatic that violations of those regulations that lead to injury are actionable under state law.
2. The Court erred in granting Summary Judgment to Defendant United Airlines, Inc. when significant questions of fact remain, particularly considering that Plaintiffs can point to evidence indicating United did not verify the incident bin was secure, as federal regulations require.
3. The Court erred in accepting Defendant United Airlines, Inc.'s unsupported restatement of the facts and in drawing conclusions in United's favor in granting summary judgment.

Background

{¶ 3} Appellants were aboard appellee's flight from Honolulu, Hawaii to Chicago, Illinois on October 26, 2013. Appellants were returning home to Toledo, Ohio. At some point after push-back from the gate or taxi onto the runway, but before landing in Chicago, appellant Marc Meyer was struck by luggage that had fallen from an overhead bin.

{¶ 4} Marc suffered injuries and sought medical treatment upon returning to Toledo. He was in pain and lost use of his shoulder. It was eventually determined Marc had a full-thickness rotator cuff injury, and he underwent surgery to repair the injury.

{¶ 5} On October 20, 2015, appellants filed a complaint claiming appellee breached a duty of care by not securing the overhead bin, there proximately causing Marc's injuries. Paula claimed loss of consortium.

{¶ 6} During discovery, appellants Marc and Paula, a passenger-witness Reatta Barnfield, and flight attendant David Carney were deposed as fact witnesses.

{¶ 7} On January 23, 2017, appellee moved the court for summary judgment claiming that, based on facts produced at the depositions, no dispute of material fact existed.

{¶ 8} Appellants opposed summary judgment on April 24, 2017, contending that disputes of material fact existed and that resolution was necessary to determine whether appellee breached a standard of care imposed by federal aviation regulations.

{¶ 9} The trial court granted appellee's motion for summary judgment, there disposing of appellants' claims on June 14, 2017. The judgment was journalized that day, and appellants now timely appeal.

Standard of Review

{¶ 10} When reviewing a trial court's summary judgment decision, the appellate court conducts a de novo review. Grafton v. Ohio Edison Co. , 77 Ohio St.3d 102, 105, 671 N.E.2d 241 (1996). Summary judgment will be granted when there remains no genuine issue of material fact and, when construing the evidence most strongly in *489favor of the non-moving party, reasonable minds can only conclude that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Civ.R. 56(C). Accord Lopez v. Home Depot, USA, Inc. , 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-02-1248, 2003-Ohio-2132, 2003 WL 1962360, ¶ 7.

Assignment of Error No. 1

{¶ 11} First, appellants argue they have satisfied their burden to withstand summary judgment where evidence shows appellee's violations of federal aviation regulations proximately caused their injuries. In response, appellee contends appellants adduced no evidence showing appellee was negligent or that appellee violated a federal aviation regulation.

{¶ 12} "Ohio law provides that in order to prove negligence, a plaintiff must establish duty, a breach of that duty, and damage or injury proximately caused by the breach." See , e.g. , Gilbert v. Norfolk S. Ry. , 6th Dist. Lucas No. L-09-1062, 2010-Ohio-2618, 2010 WL 2333773, ¶ 61.

{¶ 13} To establish the duty and applicable standard of care, appellants here specifically point to the regulations codified in 14 C.F.R. 121.589, which cross-references 14 C.F.R. 121.285(d), and, in pertinent part, state as follows:

(b) No certificate holder may allow all passenger entry doors of an airplane to be closed in preparation for taxi or pushback unless at least one required crewmember has verified that each article of baggage is stowed in accordance with this section and § 121.285 (c) and (d).
(c) No certificate holder may allow an airplane to takeoff or land unless each article of baggage is stowed:
(1) In a suitable closet or baggage or cargo stowage compartment placarded for its maximum weight and providing proper restraint for all baggage or cargo stowed within, and in a manner that does not hinder the possible use of any emergency equipment; or
(2) As provided in § 121.285 (c) and (d) ; or
(3) Under a passenger seat.
(d) Baggage, other than articles of loose clothing, may not be placed in an overhead rack unless that rack is equipped with approved restraining devices or doors.

See 14 C.F.R. 121.589(b) - (d) ; see , e.g. , Levy v. Continental Airlines, Inc. , E.D.Pa. No. 07-1266, 2007 WL 2844592, *6 (Oct. 1, 2007) (" Section 121.589 establishes the standard of care that airlines must use for securing carry-on baggage.").

{¶ 14} 14 C.F.R. 121.285(d), in pertinent part, provides:

(d) Cargo, including carry-on baggage, may be carried anywhere in the passenger compartment of a nontransport category airplane type certificated after December 31, 1964, if it is carried in an approved cargo rack, bin, or compartment installed in or on the airplane, if it is secured by an approved means, or if it is carried in accordance with each of the following:

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112 N.E.3d 487, 2018 Ohio 259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/meyer-v-united-airlines-inc-ohctapp6lucas-2018.