Nevelle R. Stud v. Trans International Airlines, a Corporation, Transamerica Airlines, a Corporation

Nevelle Stud, the owner and shipper of a horse named Super Clint, sued for damages sustained when the horse died ten days after shipment on a Transamerica flight. Stud appeals from a summary judgment for Transamerica.

In April 1980, Transamerica transported Super Clint on a flight from Canada to New Zealand. Super Clint, for whom Stud had paid $300,000 the month before, seemed to be in good health upon arrival in New Zea-land on April 4. Shortly afterward the horse became visibly ill; he died on April 14,1980. A veterinarian who performed an autopsy on April 15 concluded that the cause of death was “pleuro pneumonia probably brought on by the stress of travel.” A final autopsy report dated June 21, 1980, concluded that temperature fluctuations in the cabin of the airplane probably caused the illness that claimed Super Clint. On June 25, Stud’s insurance agent submitted a written notice of claim to Trans-america’s New Zealand ground handling agent.

After negotiations with Transamerica proved fruitless, Stud filed this action for damages, alleging breach of the carriage contract, negligence, and willful misconduct. The district court held that the Warsaw Convention barred Stud’s…