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Burroughs v. Precision Airmotive Corp.2/25/2000
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
Plaintiffs suffered injuries in the crash of a light aircraft, allegedly due to a malfunction in the engine's carburetor. Defendant is an aircraft parts manufacturer who did not manufacture or sell this particular model of carburetor but acquired the product line from a predecessor who had acquired it from the original manufacturer. The carburetor was manufactured and sold in 1968, over 25 years prior to the accident. A recent federal statute of repose (The General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994 (GARA), 49 U.S.C. ยง 40101) bars claims arising from accidents involving light aircraft brought against "the manufacturer of any new component . . . or other part of the aircraft, in its capacity as a manufacturer" more than 18 years after the product is first sold. The trial court in this case granted summary judgment against plaintiffs, finding that the federal statute barred their claims against defendant in its capacity as successor to the original manufacturer.
Two questions are presented in this appeal. Is defendant a "manufacturer" within the meaning of the federal statute? If the statute applies to bar plaintiffs' claims against defendant acting in its capacity as a manufacturer, can plaintiffs nonetheless proceed against defendant on a theory that defendant breached an independent duty to warn about the defective product? We find that defendant, as the successor manufacturer, stands in the shoes of the manufacturer and is entitled to the protection of GARA. We further find that defendant, in engaging in the conduct complained of by plaintiffs, was acting in its capacity as a manufacturer pursuant to the duties and obligations imposed by federal law on manufacturers of general aviation aircraft and aircraft parts. Plaintiffs' theory of independent liability is not viable under these circumstances. We therefore affirm the judgment.
BACKGROUND
On February 26, 1995, a two-seater aircraft piloted by plaintiff James Burroughs took off from Reed-Hillview Airport in San Jose. The passenger was plaintiff Jared Burroughs, James Burroughs's nephew. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft lost power and crashed. Both James and Jared Burroughs suffered serious personal injuries. Plaintiff Joseph Burroughs, father of Jared, witnessed the crash from the ground.
Plaintiffs' expert stated that the source of the plane losing power was a defective carburetor containing a float made from composite materials. Over time and with changes in the chemistry of gasoline, the composite float absorbed fuel and became heavy. The float's loss of buoyancy caused a change in the fuel-air mixture, resulting in interruption of power. The carburetor, known as the Marvel-Schebler Aviation carburetor, or MSA carburetor, Model MA-3A, was manufactured in 1968 by the Marvel-Schebler Division of Borg-Warner Corporation (now known as Borg-Warner Security Corp., hereafter "Borg-Warner"). Borg- Warner sold its Marvel-Schebler carburetor line to Facet Aerospace Products Co. in 1983 (a subsidiary of Facet Enterprises, Inc., hereafter "Facet"). Facet sold the Marvel-Schebler product line to Zenith Fuel Systems, Inc. in 1990 and shortly thereafter defendant Precision Airmotive Corp. (Precision) acquired the product line. Although Precision began manufacturing aircraft carburetors in 1991, it did not manufacture, design or sell the model of carburetor involved in the accident in this case. Production of this particular carburetor containing the composite float ceased in 1984, six years before Precision acquired the product line.
Problems with composite carburetor floats absorbing fuel and sinking were well documented. Facet issued a Service Bulletin in May of 19
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