Corning v. Dec Aviation Corp., 50 Wis. 2d 441

Summary

The Supreme Court of Wisconsin addressed liability arising when a moving airplane being taxied and tested by an airplane repair company struck a parked airplane. The court held that the physical facts irreconcilably contradicted employee testimony that the hydraulic reservoir was full and leak-free, establishing negligence in the repair and maintenance of the aircraft as a matter of law. It reversed the judgment and remanded with directions to enter judgment for the plaintiffs based on the jury's damages finding.

Holdings

1. Proof that a mechanical failure caused the aircraft to veer and collide does not, by itself, establish that the defendants were free from negligence. The defendants were required to present evidence that the defect was not discoverable through reasonable inspection.
2. Oral testimony that directly and irreconcilably conflicts with irrefutably established physical facts and leaves only one possible inference cannot support a jury verdict.
3. The trial court should have granted the plaintiffs' post-verdict motion because the jury's negative answer was directly and irreconcilably contrary to the undisputed physical facts. The jury's answers to Questions 1 and 2 were therefore to be changed to affirmative answers, followed by entry of judgment for the damages found by the jury.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the defendant aircraft repair company could avoid liability merely by establishing that a mechanical failure caused the collision.
2. Whether the jury's negative negligence finding could be sustained when the defendants' oral testimony directly conflicted with undisputed physical facts showing that the aircraft lacked hydraulic fluid.
3. Whether the plaintiffs were entitled to a change in the jury's answers and entry of judgment for the damages found by the jury.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded