Trishan Air, Inc. v. Dassault Falcon Jet Corporatio

MEMORANDUM

In this diversity action brought under California law, Trishan Air, Inc., Kerry Acquisitions, LLC, and Koosharem Corporation (“Plaintiffs”) sued Dassault Aviation and its subsidiary Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation (“Dassault”) to recover for losses resulting from the crash of a corporate jet that Dassault manufactured. Plaintiffs raised several claims, including state-law claims of negligence, strict products liability, breach of implied and express warranties, and intentional misconduct. On the basis of the jury’s special verdict, the district court entered judgment in favor of Plaintiffs on the breach of express warranty claim in the amount of $3.5 million. This amount represented a 70% reduction of the amount of damages to reflect the jury’s finding that Plaintiffs were 70% at fault for the accident. The district court entered judgment in favor of Dassault on Plaintiffs’ strict products liability and negligence claims based on the application of California’s economic loss rule. Plaintiffs appeal the reduction in the award based on their comparative fault for the accident, as well as the district court’s evidentiary and pretrial rulings that Plaintiffs claim…