Opinion ID: 387302
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Violation of Law

Text: 37 Plaintiff alleges that a proximate cause of the accident aircraft's crash was Boeing's failure to comply with a Federal Aviation Administration regulation. 4 Citing California law, plaintiff maintains that Boeing cannot exculpate itself from liability incurred due to a violation of federal regulations. It cites three Court of Appeal cases which support the proposition that pursuant to California Civil Code § 1668 (West 1973), 5 California courts will refuse to enforce an exculpatory provision that would insulate a party from the consequences of his violation of law. Of these cases, only Hanna v. Lederman, 223 Cal.App.2d 786, 36 Cal.Rptr. 150 (1963), deals with an exculpatory clause in a contract between two commercial entities. 38 In Hanna, a commercial tenant entered into a lease excusing the landlord from all damage to goods and merchandise from any cause. Citing Civil Code § 1668, the court held that the tenant's negligence action could not be barred if damage occurred as a proximate result of the landlord's violation of a municipal ordinance requiring sounding devices on sprinkler systems. Hanna might support the argument that, under California law, if plaintiff could prove that Boeing's alleged violation of law was a proximate cause of the crash, the exculpatory clause would be ignored. But see Delta Air Lines, Inc. v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 503 F.2d 239, 244 (5th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 965, 95 S.Ct. 1953, 44 L.Ed.2d 451 (1975). Like the instant case, Hanna involved commercial entities, a contract which explicitly stated that the waiver was part of the consideration for the contract, and property damage, not personal injury. Id. at 788-789, 36 Cal.Rptr. 150. 39 Judge McGovern, sitting in Washington, found that under that state's law the general rule permitting exculpation for negligence, Hewitt v. Miller, 11 Wash.App. 72, 521 P.2d 244 (1974), would not be abrogated in the event that a negligent act also constituted a violation of law. Interpretations of local law by a district court sitting in the locality are entitled to great weight. They will not be disturbed unless clearly wrong. Leslie Salt Co. v. St. Paul Mercury Ins. Co., 637 F.2d 657, 659 (9th Cir. 1980). Though the Washington courts have not directly addressed this subject, closely related decisions support the conclusion reached by Judge McGovern. See, e. g., Ritter v. Shotwell, 63 Wash.2d 601, 388 P.2d 527, 530 (1964); Stegall v. Kynaston, 26 Wash.App. 731, 613 P.2d 1214, 1216 (1980). 40 Because, arguably, the laws of the two relevant jurisdictions differ, we must determine whether one state has a significant interest in having its law applied. See part II, supra. The policy underlying the California rule appears to be the protection of its citizens. Here, that policy is not impaired if Washington law controls. The victim in this instance, Varig Airlines, is not a citizen of California. Nor did it originally attempt to invoke the protection of California law. Further, despite Boeing's immunity from suit by Varig, nothing inhibits the operation of the regulation in question through suits brought by the estates of the deceased or sanctions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration. See Delta Air Lines v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 503 F.2d 239, 243-44 (5th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 965, 95 S.Ct. 1953, 44 L.Ed.2d 451 (1975); Delta Air Lines v. Douglas Aircraft Co., 238 Cal.App.2d 95, 47 Cal.Rptr. 518, 524 (1965). 41 Washington, by contrast, does have an interest in having its law observed. Boeing is a Washington-based corporation. In accordance with the policy of that state, it consciously allocated the risk associated with its contract with Seaboard and, through Seaboard, with Varig. The state of Washington has an interest in seeing that the legitimate expectations of the parties to the contract are not frustrated. 42 Because we find Washington law controlling, we find no error in the granting of summary judgment.