William Katt (Senior Counsel-Milwaukee, WI) and Nicole Melvani (Of Counsel-McLean, VA) with the able assistance of paralegal Rachel Swords, obtained a unanimous defense verdict in favor of Wilson Elser’s client in an aviation matter that was tried before a federal jury in the U.S. District Court in Miami, Florida. The case involved a charter aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean about five miles from its intended destination in the Bahamas. The passenger and pilot survived and were rescued from the water. The passenger contended he suffered severe and permanent injuries, and filed suit against the pilot, the pilot’s employer and Wilson Elser’s client, a fixed-base operator (FBO) that fueled the aircraft. The plaintiff contended our client negligently fueled the “wrong” tanks in the aircraft, which caused or contributed to the accident. The jury found zero causal negligence on behalf of the FBO and returned a defense verdict in our client’s favor. The jury found the pilot and his employer to be responsible for 80 percent of the plaintiff’s injuries and awarded the plaintiff approximately $2.9 million in damages against the pilot and the charter company. The jury also found the plaintiff to be 20 percent responsible for his own injuries. The jury found the FBO to have zero liability for the accident and the plaintiff’s injuries. The jury rendered a unanimous verdict in the FBO’s favor within a few hours of closing arguments.