Bennie Imogene Dunn v. Trans World Airlines, Inc.

Defendant-appellant, Trans World Airlines, Inc. (“TWA”), appeals from a decision by the district court of Guam awarding plaintiff-appellee, Bennie Imogene Dunn (“Dunn”), $75,000 for injuries sustained when the flight on which Dunn was aboard experienced some air turbulence en route from Honolulu to India. Four issues are raised on appeal by TWA:

1. The district court erred in awarding Dunn judgment in the amount of $75,000 since the Treaty of Warsaw, otherwise known as the Warsaw Convention, limited recovery for such injuries to approximately $8300. The Montreal Agreement, which modified the Treaty of Warsaw’s limitation and provided, instead, a limit of $75,000 on recoveries against signatory airlines, was inapplicable to the instant case because plaintiff failed to “allege, plead or prove that TWA was a signatory to such an agreement; plaintiff did not allege, plead or prove that she was entitled to the provisions of the Montreal Interim Agreement, and therefore her damages, if any, are limited to $8,300.00 under the Warsaw Treaty.” Appellant: Opening Brief at 6.

2. The award of $75,000 in favor of Dunn was excessive in that there was insufficient evidence to support such a…