The legal representative of the estate of Weingeroff (Weingeroff), a passenger on a turboprop plane who was killed when the plane crashed near State College, Pennsylvania, brought a negligence and product liability lawsuit against Pilatus Air (Pilatus), the manufacturer of the plane. The plane crashed when approaching a small airport in Pennsylvania on a planned stop en route from Florida to Rhode Island. Weingeroff sued Pilatus in a federal district court situated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Pilatus, a Swiss company, asked the court to dismiss the case for lack of personal jurisdiction. Pilatus claimed that they had no offices or agents in Pennsylvania, no commercial transactions with Pennsylvania residents, and no physical presence in the state that would constitute purposeful availment. Weingeroff pointed to evidence that (1) Pilatus had conducted a nationwide marketing campaign in the United States to sell its planes, which included Pennsylvania; and (2) Pilatus had purchased over $1 million in products, services, and equipment from Pennsylvania suppliers. The trial court ruled in favor of Pilatus and dismissed the suit for lack of personal jurisdiction.

CASE QUESTIONS

1. Who prevails and why?

2. Suppose the plane had crashed and injured a pedestrian on the ground. Would the victim be able to bring a case against Pilatus in a Pennsylvania (state or federal) court?