LeClairRyan’s Aviation Industry team is a national practice composed of veteran attorneys who represent leading domestic and international commercial airlines, aviation product manufacturers, owners and operators of private aircraft entities that maintain and repair such aircraft and their insurers in all matters of aviation law and litigation. We are singularly focused on delivering business solutions—not just legal strategies—for our aviation clients.
Our team is truly interdisciplinary and includes professionals—from attorneys with years of experience in a variety of practice areas to a former aircraft hydraulic fuel control technician—who work collaboratively to achieve maximum strategic advantages for our clients. We understand the aviation industry from an insider’s perspective, as one of the firm’s aviation attorneys is an active pilot for a major airline, having flown narrowbody and widebody aircraft on domestic as well as international routes.
Indeed, our attorneys have spent years representing and building close relationships with a host of clients in the aviation industry. As a result, we are thoroughly familiar with the litigation trends, state and federal regulatory requirements and market realities our clients confront on a daily basis.
Litigation
LeClairRyan’s attorneys possess a depth of experience representing aviation clients in litigation related to an array of business and liability issues. Our litigation experience includes:
- Defending domestic and international commercial airlines as well as aircraft manufacturers and insurers in tort defense litigation arising from disasters involving property damage, wrongful death and personal injury claims
- Representing owners and insurers of private aircraft in litigation involving property damage, wrongful death and personal injury claims
- Representing aircraft manufacturers in product liability and property damage claims
- Representing aviation insurance carriers in insurance coverage and subrogation litigation
- Defending pilots, their estates, FBOs and flight school owners and operators in wrongful death and personal injury claims
- Representing aircraft manufacturers in commercial contract and unfair trade practices disputes
- Representing commercial airlines in professional liability, discrimination, lost baggage and denied boarding litigation
- Representing airlines in Federal Aviation Administration investigations
- Patent prosecution and interference claims pertaining to various aviation-related technologies
Regardless of the scope of the case, our attorneys consistently achieve favorable and quantifiable results for our clients, even when confronted with the most difficult circumstances and severe time constraints. Whether they are managing discovery, coordinating trials, negotiating settlements or litigating individual cases, our attorneys are focused on protecting our aviation clients’ business interests.
Representative litigation engagements:
- Defense of a commercial airline in wrongful death actions, personal injury actions and property damage claims arising out of the 9/11 terrorist attacks
- Defense of helicopter tour company in connection with wrongful death lawsuits arising out of a mid-air collision over the Hudson River
- Local counsel for avionics manufacturer in litigation resulting from Air France 447 Mid-Atlantic accident
- Defense of the estate of the pilot in wrongful death actions resulting from a mid-air collision of a Mooney Cadet and a Piper Lance
- Representation of the flight school and FBO in the NTSB investigation of JFK Jr.’s crash off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard
- Representation of international airline in a nationwide class action venued in San Diego involving allegations of fraud associated with the cancellation of frequent flier miles
- Represented Austrian funicular train manufacturer in several class action lawsuits arising out of a fire on a funicular train in Kaprun, Austria.
- Negotiation of fractional interest lease agreements with NetJets, Inc. and other share-interest providers on behalf of NYSE-listed companies and individual owners
- Defense of insurer to recover damages in excess of $100 million to insured aircraft resulting from the collapse of a jet storage center during a snow storm
- Local counsel on a taxiway intersection collision resulting in over 125 deaths in Islamabad, Pakistan
- Defense of the manufacturer of a jet in personal injury actions arising from an accident at Teterboro Airport
- Represented a defense contractor in a software copyright case involving the software that forms the hub of the U.S. Army’s tactical internet and passes data among airborne weapons platforms. Awarded an injunction and damages after a week-long bench trial in the Eastern District of Virginia
- Defense of wrongful death claims venued in Buffalo, New York arising out of a crash of a Cirrus SR22
- Defense of aircraft manufacturer in personal injury and wrongful death claims arising from the crash of a Beechcraft Baron into a shopping center in Northern California, killing five and injuring more than 70 individuals
- Defense of the estate of the pilot in wrongful death and personal injury actions arising out of the crash of Beechcraft Bonanza S-35
- Defense of an FBO in wrongful death actions arising out of a crash of a Piper Cherokee
- Defense of a propeller manufacturer in wrongful death actions arising out of the crash of a Beechcraft King Air 200
- Representation of the owners of a Gulfstream II in a claim for catastrophic damage to a Rolls Royce Spey jet engine
- Defense of owner and operator of flight school and defense of the helicopter maintenance personnel arising out of the crash of a Schweizer 269C-1
- Defense of a commercial airline arising out of an alleged discrimination claim brought by the ACLU on behalf of passengers of Middle Eastern descent
- Defense of the owner and operator of a flight school and the pilot arising out of a crash of a Schweizer 269C-1
- Defense of pilot, owner and manager of a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter arising out of a personal injury lawsuit
- Defense of the FBO that maintained and managed a Cessna 172 in a wrongful death action
- Defense of the FBO in wrongful death actions arising out of the crash of a Beechcraft V35B Bonanza
- Litigate patent prosecution and interference claims pertaining to aviation-related technologies including avionic collision avoidance systems, aircraft wing production processes, landing gear systems, secured cockpit systems, security hatch systems, airline travel reservation and marketing systems, aircraft display systems, articulated load juncture devices, aerial mapping, diagnostic and prognostic monitoring and analysis systems, and aircraft maintenance devices and methods
Transactions
Our transactional attorneys are experienced at representing companies of all sizes and individuals in the structuring, negotiating and closing of aircraft purchases and sales, including lease and other financing transactions.
We have handled aircraft purchases and sales ranging from Gulfstream G-Vs to the smaller Pipers and Cessnas; many of these transactions have involved 1031 tax-free exchanges and synthetic lease agreements for corporate lessees of small and large aircraft. In addition, our aviation team members are knowledgeable of ownership under FAA Part 91 as well as with charter operations under Part 135.
Our aviation attorneys also have negotiated individual and shared aircraft management agreements for both Fortune 100 companies and family-owned flight departments. In addition, they have negotiated fractional interest lease agreements with shared-interest providers on behalf of NYSE-listed companies and individual owners.
We are also experienced in structuring, documenting, negotiating and closing loans and lease transactions involving commercial aircraft and corporate jets.
Representative transaction engagements:
- Representation of U.S. leasing subsidiary of a large international bank in aircraft lease transactions as with a major national retailer, a large regional bank, a large financial services company and a national waste management firm, with respect to corporate jet aircraft
- Representation of lender in $35 million term loan advanced in two tranches to finance the acquisition of a Bombardier Global 5000
- Represented U.S. bank subsidiary of international bank in the acquisition of an interest in a loan to an international U.S. airline secured by a Boeing 747 aircraft
- Negotiation of long term aircraft management arrangements with exclusive services providers
- Representation of lender in a $37 million multiple advance term loan to finance the fabrication and acquisition of a Bombardier Global XRS
- Representation of lender in a $5 million credit facility to acquire a 1967 Boeing 727-100 (Super 27) cargo aircraft, registered in Bermuda
- Representation of various lenders in connection with financings of the acquisitions of fractional aircraft interests
- Representation of Fortune 500 companies in connection with purchase, sale and lease arrangements for Gulfstream G-Vs, G-550s and other aircraft
- Structuring and restructuring of numerous aircraft ownership interests to ensure compliance with FAA requirements
Aviation Litigation Discovery
LeClairRyan possesses the experience and depth necessary to help individuals and businesses involved in aviation litigation navigate all aspects of modern discovery. We offer clients a strategically leveraged combination of skilled professionals, secure processes and cutting-edge technologies.
Understanding that every business operates differently, we approach each project with a client-centric process. By utilizing project teams to offer cost-effective, tailored approaches to each client, our discovery professionals create world-class, custom solutions for projects of all sizes.