S. A. Empresa De Viacao Aerea Rio Grandense (Varig Airlines), Plaintiff v. The Boeing Company

This appeal arises out of the crash of a Boeing 707 airliner. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Boeing, the defendant manufacturer. We hold that the court correctly resolved the choice of law issue and properly applied the governing law.

I. FACTS

On June 2, 1967, Boeing, a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in the state of Washington, sold the subject aircraft to Seaboard World Airlines. A provision of the sales contract dictated that all disputes arising out of the contract were to be governed by Washington law. Article 6 contained the following disclaimer:

(emphasis added).

(emphasis added).

On August 2,1968, following nine months of negotiations, Seaboard concluded a leaseback sale agreement with plaintiff Varig Airlines, a Brazilian corporation. This agreement contained the following provision:

(emphasis added).

Seaboard’s chief negotiator stated that this assignment of warranty provision was originally drafted by Varig’s attorney. The contract was executed in New York.

The aircraft was delivered to Varig in early 1969. On July 11, 1973, while the plane was en route from Brazil to Paris, a fire broke out in a restroom. The…