Montgomery v. New Piper Aircraft, Inc.

209 F.R.D. 221, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18218, 2002 WL 1767133
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJune 26, 2002
DocketNo. 00-14284-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 209 F.R.D. 221 (Montgomery v. New Piper Aircraft, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Montgomery v. New Piper Aircraft, Inc., 209 F.R.D. 221, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18218, 2002 WL 1767133 (S.D. Fla. 2002).

Opinion

ORDER ON REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE

ROETTGER, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE is before the court upon the Report and Recommendation prepared by United States Magistrate Judge Frank J. Lynch, who recommends denying Plaintiffs motion for class certification. Upon independent de novo review of the report and recommendation, the objections filed by Plaintiff, and the entire record herein, the findings and recommendation of Magistrate Judge Lynch are approved and adopted. Therefore, it is

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Plaintiffs motion for class certification is hereby DENIED.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Plaintiffs motion to reconsider various orders of Magistrate Lynch is DENIED.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO PERMIT MAINTENANCE OF A CLASS ACTION (DE # 19)

LYNCH, United States Magistrate Judge.

THIS CAUSE having come on to be heard upon the Plaintiffs aforementioned motion and this Court having reviewed the motion, the responses, the pertinent documents submitted by the parties in respect to their relative positions and having held a hearing on October 26, 2001, at which time arguments of counsel were received, this Court recommends to the District Court as follows.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Plaintiffs Amended Complaint alleges defects in a Malibu Mirage single-engine aircraft manufactured by Defendant New Piper and equipped with the TIO-540-AE2A engine manufactured by Defendant Textron.

2. New Piper is a successor in interest to Old Piper, and has its principal place of business in Vero Beach, Florida. Textron has its principal place of business in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

3. The Plaintiff alleges that New Piper and Textron violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (“FDUTPA”) by stating in marketing materials that the AE2A engine will operate 2000 service hours before requiring an overhaul. He seeks recovery of economic damages based on the contention that the Malibu Mirage in which he purchased an interest has diminished in value.

4. The Plaintiff seeks to certify the following nationwide class under FDUTPA:

“All current and former owners of Malibu Mirage Airplanes equipped with Lycoming TIO-540-AE2A engines during the period from 1987 through the present; excluding, however, any claims against The New Piper Aircraft Inc., for any product manufactured or sold by Piper Aircraft Corporation prior to July 11, 1995. Also excluded from the class are the defendants, each of their parents, subsidiaries, authorized distributors and affiliates, any person controlled by any excluded person, and the legal representatives, heirs, successors and assigns of any excluded person.”

5. Since 1987, Textron has sold engines for over 500 Mirage aircraft, 310 of which were manufactured by New Piper. Textron manufactures and tests its engines at its plant in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Bearings for the engines are manufactured by a separate company, KS Bearings, in Indiana and Germany. The finished engines are shipped to Florida where they are installed into the Mirage aircraft.

[224]*2246. New Piper distributes Mirages to independent distributors on an as-ordered basis in 44 states and the District of Columbia.

7. At various times, Textron provided Mirage owners with documents called “Service Instructions.” On January 10, 1997, Textron issued, and on November 4, 1998, November 5, 1999 and May 16, 2000, Textron reissued, Service Instruction 1009 which “recommended time between overhaul periods” (also known as “TBO”) — including a 2000 hour recommended TBO for the TIO-540-AE engine. The Plaintiff contends that this statement is a material misrepresentation which violates FDUTPA.

8. Service Instruction 1009 goes on to advise that: A) “Service experience, variations in operating conditions, and frequency of operation are some of the factors taken into consideration when a TBO is established.” B) “[B]ecause of variations in the manner in which engines are operated and maintained, Textron Lycoming can give no assurance that any individual operator will achieve the recommended TBO.” C) “Reliability and average service life cannot be predicted when an engine has undergone any modifications not approved by Textron Ly-coming.” The TBOs shown in the table are recommendations for engines as manufactured, without considering any modifications that may alter the life of the engine.

9. On May 31, 2000, New Piper issued Vendor Service Publication 124, which attached Textron Special Advisory No. 56-500 notifying the Mirage community that it had received a number of reports regarding abnormal crankshaft bearing wear on a small percentage of “low time” AE2A engines (less than 500 hours). It thus required owners and pilots of Mirages shipped from the factory between August 25, 1995 and July 3, 1999, and with less than 500 hours service time, to monitor filters for metal in the oil at 50 hour intervals. It stated that, because abnormal crankshaft bearing wear was not a flight safety issue, main bearing replacement was “at owner’s discretion.” For engines within Textron’s warranty period, Textron offered to install new main bearings at its own expense. For engines outside the warranty period, Textron offered to install new main bearings with Textron contributing shipping expenses and half the cost of repair.

10. On August 31, 2000, Textron issued Special Advisory No. 59-800 advising the Mirage community that two instances of connecting rod bearing failures had occurred on relatively low time AE2A engines which resulted in a disintegration of the bearing. Textron instituted a mandatory replacement program to equip the engines with connecting rod bearings with increased durability. The replacement program began on October 2, 2000 and applied to all AE2A model engines shipped from the factory after August 25,1995.

11. Plaintiff Montgomery is a citizen and resident of the State of Texas. He has never been a resident of the State of Florida. The record does not reflect that Montgomery had any relevant contact with Florida during the class period.

12. In May 1998, Montgomery purchased a one-third interest in a Texas limited liability company whose sole asset was Malibu Mirage N9285W (“the WOWAM aircraft”) and which was purchased privately from an independent distributor, Cutter Aviation, in Phoenix, Arizona. On January 2, 2000, the WOWAM aircraft was damaged in an off-airport, gear-up landing and the Plaintiff makes no claims regarding the WOWAM aircraft in this lawsuit.

13. In April of 2000, the Plaintiff purchased a 50 percent interest in SKB Aviation, a Texas partnership, which was a 50 percent interest holder in another corporation, J.M.S. Aviation, LLC, which was the record owner of Malibu Mirage No. N960MA (“Mike Alpha”). This is the aircraft which is the subject of Plaintiffs individual claim herein. Therefore, at the time this lawsuit was filed, Montgomery does not appear to have been the record owner of the Mike Alpha aircraft.

14. The Plaintiffs purchase of Mike Alpha was transacted entirely in the State of Texas where the aircraft has been continually maintained.

15. Subsequent to filing the Complaint herein, on or about April 27, 2001, Plaintiff purchased a majority interest in the Mike Alpha from J.M.S. Aviation. At the same [225]*225time, Plaintiff purchased the claims held by J.M.S.

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Bluebook (online)
209 F.R.D. 221, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18218, 2002 WL 1767133, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/montgomery-v-new-piper-aircraft-inc-flsd-2002.