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Mason v. Schweizer Aircraft Corp.11/14/2002
v. Am. Suzuki Motor Corp., 622 N.W.2d 486, 494 (Iowa 2001). Summary judgment is appropriate when the record shows "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.981(3). In determining whether the district court correctly concluded that this standard was met, we view the record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Crippen v. City of Cedar Rapids, 618 N.W.2d 562, 565 (Iowa 2000).
III. For Purposes of GARA's Statute of Repose, Was Schweizer the Manufacturer of the Hughes Model 269A Helicopter Involved in This Lawsuit?
GARA was enacted in 1994 in an attempt to help "bolster the aviation industry by relieving it from an `onslaught of product liability litigation.'" Jennifer L. Anton, A Critical Evaluation of the General Aviation Revitalization Act of 1994, 63 J. Air L. & Com. 759, 762 (1994) (citation omitted) [hereinafter "Anton"]. Congress found that an important cause of the "serious decline" in the manufacture and sale of general aviation aircraft and aircraft parts in the United States was "the tremendous increase in the industry's liability insurance costs." H.R. Rep. No. 103-525, pt. 1, at 1 (1994), reprinted in 1994 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1638, 1638. It was believed that relief from the long tail of liability would revitalize the industry. Id. at 2-3, reprinted in 1994 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 1639-40. The adoption of a statute of repose was justified in committee hearings by recognition of the industry's need for protection from endless liability and the protection of the public provided by the pervasive federal regulatory control of the aviation industry:
The legislation attempts to strike a fair balance by providing some certainty to manufacturers, which will spur the development of new jobs, while preserving victims' right to bring suit for compensation in certain particularly compelling circumstances. In essence, the bill acknowledges that, for those general aviation aircraft and component parts in service beyond the statute of repose, any design or manufacturing defect not prevented or identified by the Federal regulatory process by then should, in most instances, have manifested itself. . . . H.R. Rep. No. 103-525, pt. 2, at 6 (1994), reprinted in 1994 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1644, 1648.
GARA's statute of repose provides in pertinent part:
o civil action for damages for death or injury to persons or damage to property arising out of an accident involving a general aviation aircraft may be brought against the manufacturer of the aircraft or the manufacturer of any new component, system, subassembly, or other part of the aircraft, in its capacity as a manufacturer if the accident occurred -
(1) after the applicable limitation period [18 years] beginning on -
(A) the date of delivery of the aircraft to its first purchaser or lessee, if delivered directly from the manufacturer; or
(B) the date of first delivery of the aircraft to a person engaged in the business of selling or leasing such aircraft; or
(2) with respect to any new component, system, subassembly, or other part which replaced another component, system, subassembly, or other part originally in, or which was added to, the aircraft, and which is alleged to have caused such death, injury , or damage, after the applicable limitation period beginning on the date of completion of the replacement or addition. 49 U.S.C. § 40101 note, § 2(a).
Although there are exceptions to this statutory bar, see id. § 2(b), none are implicated here. GARA also provides for a preemption of state law: "This section supersedes any State law to the extent that
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