Opinion ID: 484641
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Trial of the Liability Issues

Text: 16 In the fall of 1984, the liability issues were tried. The jury found that the four defendants who are parties to this appeal were, to varying degrees, negligent and jointly liable for causing the crash. The jury assessed the relative culpability of these defendants as follows: TGA, as owner and operator of the Jetstar, 70%; Garrett, installer of the generator control units on the Jetstar, 20%; Phoenix, designer and manufacturer of the units, 5%; and Colt, preparer of the installation drawings, 5%. 17 No defendant challenges here the sufficiency of the evidence to support the finding of its negligence. The principal appellate issues arising from the liability trial are the contentions of Garrett and Phoenix that they were entitled to a directed verdict or to judgment n.o.v. on the ground that the conduct of TGA was a supervening cause of the crash that entirely exonerated them from liability. These contentions and the pertinent evidence at the liability trial are discussed in Part II.C. below.