Aviation Accident Verdicts: PEMCO Aviation Group, Inc. v. Certex of Alabama, Inc.
PEMCO AVIATION GROUP, INC. vs. CERTEX OF ALABAMA, INC.
Date: September 17, 2001
RESULT: $ 7,500,000 for Plaintiff. (verdict)
JUDGMENT: $ 2,455,510.36 for Plaintiff
STATE: Alabama
CAUSE OF INJURY: Plaintiff Pemco Aviation alleged that Defendant Certex of Alabama supplied it with an inferior grade of aircraft cable that resulted in the grounding of U.S. Air Force KC-135 planes, which Plaintiff had a contract to repair and refurbish. Plaintiff purchased 37,000 feet of cable from Defendant in August 1999 and installed the cable in twenty-six aircraft before being informed in December 1999 that the product was inferior. Defendant did not notify Plaintiff of the defective nature of the cable until April 2000. It took Plaintiff until July 2000 to replace the cable. The cables connected the cockpit pedals, throttles, and yoke to the flight controls.
Col. Raymond Hauck, U.S.A.F. Retired, and president of Pemco Aeroplex, testified concerning the importance of cable and the hazards associated with its failure. Plaintiff alleged it incurred $ 546,505 in expenses to repair and replace the inferior cable already installed. Plaintiff further alleged that Defendant was aware that the cable did not meet military specifications but did not inform Plaintiff for approximately six months. Defendant that they neither designed nor manufactured the aircraft cable at issue and relied, as did Plaintiff, on mill certificates provided by the manufacturer representing that the aircraft cable sold to Plaintiff and shipped directly to Plaintiff by the manufacturer and a regional distributor, met the military specifications identified by Plaintiff in its order for the cable. Neither the manufacturer nor the regional distributor was a party to this lawsuit.
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