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Arnold v. McDonnell Douglas Corp.5/18/1999
al common law in a suit against a military contractor:
"Liability for design defects in military equipment cannot be imposed, pursuant to state law, when (1) the United States approved reasonably precise specifications; (2) the equipment conformed to those specifications; and (3) the supplier warned the United States about the dangers in the use of the equipment that were known to the supplier but not to the United States." Id. at 512.
The Court developed the three-prong test in Boyle to determine when state law imposing liability for design defects in military equipment poses a significant conflict with federal interests. Landowner's petition does not assert product liability claims based on defects in the aircraft, but asserts negligence by contractor in the performance of supersonic flights. The portions of the Boyle test which depend on product liability claims, therefore, are inappropriate for determining whether liability can be imposed to the negligent performance claims herein.
Boyle does not, however, leave us entirely without guidance. The Court explained the purpose of the elements saying:
"The first two of these conditions assure that the suit is within the area where the policy of the "discretionary function" would be frustrated--i.e., they assure that the design feature in question was considered by a Government officer, and not merely by the contractor itself. The third condition is necessary because, in its absence, the displacement of state tort law would create some incentive for the manufacturer to withhold knowledge of risks, since conveying that knowledge might disrupt the contract but withholding it would produce no liability."
Contractor argues it produced evidence in support of its motion for summary judgment supporting the elements of a modified Boyle test by showing that: (1) the United States approved precise documented procedures for contractor's supersonic test flights; (2) the test flights were flown by contractor's pilots in strict conformance with those procedures; and (3) the United States had full knowledge of the potential adverse consequences of supersonic flights.
Landowner asserts contractor's "analogy between the Boyle criteria for defective products manufactured according to government specifications on the one hand and the operational standards imposed by the government and the customary compliance with those standards by the contractors's agents on the other" is inappropriate. We do not agree as the defense can apply to performance contracts. Contractor's interpretation of the Boyle criteria and application of those criteria to the present facts is reasonable. The contractor, however, must produce evidence to support those elements to meet its initial burden of proof.
B. Contractor's Evidence
In support of its motion for summary judgment, contractor attached its contract with the United States for the production, testing, and purchase of F-15 aircraft; affidavits of several of its employees; Department of Defense Manual 8210.1 entitled Contractor's Flight and Ground Operations Manual ("Manual"); contractor's Report No. 9271 outlining its flight operations procedures ("Report"); contractor's Directive No. F001.3 describing its flight scheduling and management process ("Directive"); and other documents.
1. Government Approval of Precise Procedures
To meet the first Boyle prong, contractor must show the existence of two factors: reasonably precise flight procedures and government approval of them. See Gray v. Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Co., 125 F.3d 1371, 1377 (11th Cir. 1997).
Contractor presented its contract with the Unite
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