Milwaukee partners John Loringer and David Frank, assisted by associate Sam Obscherning, secured summary judgment for an airline client and its insurer in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The plaintiff, a passenger, claimed that an overhead panel fell and struck him in the chest, allegedly causing injuries that required multiple surgeries to repair an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The plaintiff asserted that the airline was negligent in maintaining the aircraft and sought to rely on the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur to meet his burden of proof. On summary judgment the Wilson Elser team argued that the plaintiff could not establish either negligence or causation. The court agreed, emphasizing that the plaintiff had conducted minimal discovery, taken no depositions, and neglected to retain a liability expert. In the court’s view, aircraft maintenance is a technical matter requiring expert testimony and “Plaintiff has failed to present any evidence negligence… regardless of the applicable standard of care.” The court ruled that res ipsa “cannot excuse plaintiff’s lack of evidence here.” The court also rejected the plaintiff’s request for spoliation sanctions, finding no evidence of bad faith and noting that the plaintiff did not report the injury to the airline and did not seek to inspect the aircraft panel or move for a sanction in discovery. The court ultimately held that plaintiff failed to create a triable issue of fact on breach and granted our motion for summary judgment, dismissing all claims with prejudice and removing the case from the trial calendar.
