Opinion ID: 3011844
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Plane Crash and the Partial Settlement

Text: James Flemming was a passenger on an Air Sunshine flight from St. Croix to St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands on February 8, 1997. The plane, piloted by Defendant James, crashed into the ocean at night during its approach to St. Thomas. The plane was not destroyed on impact, but immediately began taking on water and sinking. Pilot James and three of the four passengers escaped from the plane before it sank, although one passenger later drowned when he could no longer hold on to a life vest he was sharing with another passenger. According to deposition testimony and Sabine Flemming’s biomechanics expert, James Flemming was still alive after the plane crashed and was struggling with his seat belt as the pilot and the other passengers exited the aircraft. James Flemming did not escape from the sinking plane, ultimately drowning. 3 The parties vigorously dispute the circumstances of the plane crash and the alleged lack of precautions and rescue efforts taken by pilot James. James testified in his deposition that when the plane hit the water, he was scared to death and must have been knocked out. App. at 169-70. James stated that, after hitting the water he could not make radio contact because the next thing [he] remember[s] is the water being up about midway deep past the tops of the seat cushion tops . . . and the plane from that point in time sunk within 15 seconds. Id. at 172-73. James said that, after impact, he swam through the cabin and found a life jacket floating in the back. He heard passengers yelling, and one passenger in front of him said that he could not swim, so James gave him his life jacket. He stated that it was very dark and that he wished he had retrieved more life vests, but that the plane was just about ready to sink, and that he really didn’t think [he] had the time to get more vests. Id. at 173-76. He stated that once he emerged from the plane, he could not see any passengers because it was pitch black and he was in shock. Id. at 177, 196-97. James disputed the account of other passengers that James Flemming was still in his seat trying to remove his seatbelt when James swam through the plane’s cabin. James explained that the cabin was very small and that he would have brushed against James Flemming if he was there. James eventually swam to some nearby rocks for safety. Two surviving passengers, Frankie Bellot and Eugene Willett, both testified in depositions that, from the time they got out of the plane, about three or four minutes passed before the plane sank. They testified that the pilot left the plane first. They also stated that it was very dark and that they could not remember every detail because the events were so chaotic. Willett stated that he saw James Flemming alive and still in his seat trying to detach his seatbelt while he was exiting the plane. Sabine Flemming filed a wrongful death action against the airline and the plane’s pilot in the District Court of the Virgin Islands, Division of St. Croix. She sued individually and in her capacity as personal representative of the estate of her late husband, asserting claims of negligence, 4 negligent infliction of emotional distress, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Thereafter, the parties entered into settlement negotiations, with a Magistrate Judge facilitating the discussions. Eventually, the parties agreed to a partial settlement, which the Magistrate Judge memorialized in an order dated March 3, 1998. Under the partial settlement set forth in the Magistrate Judge’s order, Air Sunshine agreed to pay Sabine Flemming $500,000 for the release of all claims regarding the death of James Flemming. Air Sunshine’s insurer was allowed to intervene . . . on a complaint for declaratory judgment. Id. at 12. The settlement order states that, presumably for purposes of the declaratory judgment motion,  [t]he issues to be considered (non-jury) are federal preemption through Warsaw Convention [Warsaw] and Death on the High Seas Act [DOHSA], and multiple occurrences as they relate to insurance coverage herein. Id. at 12 (emphasis added). The order provided that Sabine Flemming would file a statement of multiple occurrences claimed (that have reasonably been pled in plaintiff ’s amended complaint) within twenty (20) days, and that Air Sunshine could specify its DOHSA defense claim in response to this statement. Id. The settlement order then laid out a series of additional situations under which Sabine Flemming could recover more than the $500,000 base settlement amount. These additional recoveries depended on the court’s resolution of the Warsaw/DOHSA and multiple occurrence issues. Under these settlement provisions, if Sabine Flemming did not prevail on the multiple occurrences issue, she could not recover any amount beyond the initial $500,000 payment.1 _________________________________________________________________ 1. With regard to these potential additional recoveries, the settlement order states: (c) If the plaintiff does not prevail on multiple occurrences or if the insurer prevails on Warsaw, the plaintiff gets nothing additional. (d) If the plaintiff prevails on multiple occurrences and the insurer does not prevail on Warsaw and DOHSA, the plaintiff gets $450,000.00 additional. (e) If the plaintiff prevails on multiple occurrences and the insurer prevails on DOHSA, the parties will then litigate the plaintiff ’s 5 The order specified that whether the plaintiff is entitled to a jury trial on such issue of damages shall be decided at such time upon briefs. Id. at 13. Along with the settlement order, the court issued a separate scheduling order detailing a discovery and briefing schedule solely on the plaintiff ’s claim for multiple occurrences. Id. at 1061. That scheduling order stated that, following discovery, Sabine Flemming would file a motion and memorandum regarding multiple occurrences with the District Court, and all further action would be stayed pending its decision. Id. at 1062. Under the settlement order, discovery relating to other issues would be allowed only if Sabine Flemming prevailed on her claim for multiple occurrences. Id. at 13. The record does not reveal that Air Sunshine’s insurer ever intervened by seeking a declaratory judgment action. However, the case nonetheless proceeded along the route contemplated by the settlement and scheduling orders, with Air Sunshine effectively asserting the positions of its insurer. Pursuant to the settlement order, Sabine Flemming filed a notice of occurrences in March 1998. She identified four separate occurrences: 1) the crash of the plane and the negligent operation of the plane; 2) the failure to provide a pre-flight safety briefing; 3) the failure to notify passengers of the impending crash and failure to provide emergency safety instructions; and 4) after the crash, the failure to provide James Flemming with a life vest or other safety equipment, the failure to provide him any aid or assistance in exiting the plane or in any other fashion, and the pilot’s taking the life jackets and swimming off instead _________________________________________________________________ DOHSA allowed damages to a maximum of $450,000.00 additional, e.g. (i) If the plaintiff shows total $400,000.00 economic, plaintiff gets no additional. (ii) If the plaintiff shows total $650,000.00 economic, plaintiff gets $150,000.00 more. (iii) If the plaintiff shows total $1,000,000.00 economic, plaintiff gets $450,000.00 additional. App. at 12-13. 6 of providing assistance (i.e., the Captain failing to go down with the ship). Id. at 56-57. In April 1998, the parties entered into a release of claims as contemplated by the partial settlement agreement. The release waived claims in exchange for $500,000 from Air Sunshine, subject to the reservation that Plaintiff ’s estate may be entitled to additional sums if it is successful in its claim of ‘multiple occurrences’  under the settlement agreement and order. Id. at 436.