Opinion ID: 1650209
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ewers v. Thunderbird Aviation, John Hendrickson, Sr., and Albert Grazzini

Text: On October 18, 1974, defendant John R. Hendrickson, Sr., purchased an aircraft from defendant Thunderbird Aviation, Inc. (Thunderbird). On that same day, Hendrickson leased the airplane to Thunderbird. This sale and lease-back arrangement was originally suggested by defendant Albert J. Grazzini, president and sole stockholder of Thunderbird, who is also Hendrickson's accountant. The lease agreement provided that the aircraft would be permanently based at Flying Cloud airport in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to be used in Thunderbird's flight service business. On April 30, 1977, Thunderbird leased the aircraft to Fred Graf. On the same day the plane, with Graf piloting and Keith Ewers, plaintiff's husband, as passenger, departed Eden Prairie for Denver, Colorado. Upon approach to the airport in Denver, the aircraft crashed, killing both Graf and plaintiff's husband. Both Graf and passenger Ewers were Minnesota residents. Thereafter, plaintiff, acting as trustee for the heirs of Patrick Ewers, commenced this action against defendants Thunderbird, Hendrickson, and Grazzini. Defendants moved for dismissal or summary judgment in their favor on various grounds, including that the terms of Minn.St. 360.0216 do not impose vicarious liability on defendants for the negligent acts of the pilot in the instant case. On November 2, 1978, the district court, with one exception not material here, denied defendants' motion. The trial judge subsequently certified two of the issues presented by the motion as important and doubtful.