United Air Lines, Inc. v. Janice Wiener, as of the Estate of Norton Wiener, Deceased, and Related Cases

On April 21,1958, near Las Vegas, Nevada, there was a mid-air collision between an airplane owned and operated by the United States of America and a passenger plane owned and operated by United Air Lines, herein referred to as United. All persons in each airplane were killed in the collision. Twenty-three actions for damages against United and the United States were filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California, Central Division, by the heirs or personal representatives of the persons killed in the collision.

After the twenty-three cases were at issue, the United States made a motion in the district court asking that all cases be consolidated on the issue of liability only. At a hearing upon this motion United indicated that it did not object to consolidation on the issue of liability, as long as this consolidation did not mean that the issue of damages would be tried before a different jury in the event that United was found to be liable. An order was submitted by the United States providing for the ' consolidation, but this proposed order was silent concerning whether the same jury would determine the issue of damages if that issue should be…