LAKELAND, Fla. (Legal Newsline) – The estate of a man who was minding his own business when a helicopter blade came through the windshield of the car he was riding in and killed him can’t sue the manufacturer of the helicopter in Florida.
That’s because, according to the Florida Second District Court of Appeal, courts in the state do not have jurisdiction over Robinson Helicopter Company, of California. The ruling overturns a Hillsborough County Circuit Court ruling by Judge Martha Cook and grants Robinson’s motion to dismiss.
The Estate of Deodat Gangapersaud alleged Robinson Helicopters’ participation in an attempted repair of an engine problem in Florida was sufficient to establish jurisdiction, while the company said it committed no tortious acts in Florida – instead, the helicopter was sold to a dealer in Indiana before it was resold to a dentist in Florida.
“(A)s this court has previously explained, the ‘unilateral activity of another party’ is not an appropriate consideration in the minimum contacts analysis,’” Judge John Stargel wrote for the Second District on Jan. 5.
“Nor can we conclude that Robinson had contacts with Florida that ‘arise out of or relate to’ the causes of action in this case… Robinson did not direct the subject helicopter into Florida nor has it continuously exploited the state's market such that it must reasonably anticipate being haled into court here.”
The decision noted it was Dr. Brent Mutton, the helicopter’s owner, and FSH Maintenance that reached out to Robinson for help with a repair.
“(D)ue process requires that the defendant’s relationship with the forum state ‘must arise out of contacts that the defendant himself creates with the forum state,’” Stargel wrote.
Mutton was flying an R44 helicopter in March 2019 when the engine lost power, forcing him to land in an empty field near Tampa. Following the incident, he reached out to Robinson and FSH for repairs.
Robinson provided FSH with instructions for diagnosing and repairing the aircraft, plus replacement parts.
A test a few days later was successful, so FSH decided to fly it to its facility in Sarasota for further instruction. But the engine failed again, forcing the pilot to attempt an emergency landing at a busy intersection in Tampa.
One of the blades struck a utility pole, and a piece of it broke off. It flew through the windshield of a pickup truck in which Gangapersaud was a passenger. He was killed instantly while the driver survived.
The ensuing wrongful death lawsuit blamed Robinson for a defective air inlet duct and for failing to properly diagnose the problem. Though Robinson is now dismissed from the case, Gangapersaud’s estate named many others.