Relatives Of Crash Victims Face A Strict Statute On Filing Suits

The state's "statute of repose," among the nation's moststrict, terminates manufacturers' liability six years and a dayfrom the moment their product is purchased or "enters the streamof commerce."

In contrast, South Carolina and some other states have no suchlimits, while still others set it at 18 years.

The law also requires plaintiffs to prove that a defectiveproduct caused an accident and that the manufacturer was negligentwhen it manufactured or designed it.

"The consumers of North Carolina have less protection fromdangerous and defective products than any people in the country,"said Dick Taylor, chief executive officer of the N.C. Academy ofTrial Lawyers, which has been trying to repeal the statute foryears.

Other attorneys note that manufacturers should not be expectedto pay for damages indefinitely.

The Beechcraft 1900 that crashed, killing 21 Wednesday, wasbuilt and registered in 1996, which means victims' survivors wouldbe unable to recover any damages caused by original parts of thataircraft.

However, investigators of US Airways Express Flight 5481 werefocusing Thursday on equipment that recently had been replaced orserviced. Once a part is replaced, North Carolina's six-year statueof limitations restarts. If damage was caused by faultymaintenance, the statute does not apply.

If pilot error caused Wednesday's crash, shifting liabilitycases out of North Carolina could be difficult because both theaccident and the cause would have occurred in the state.

Sorting what laws apply to Flight 5481 could be arduous becausethe aircraft was serviced in West Virginia on Monday and its partscould have been manufactured virtually anywhere in the world.

Aviation attorney Tony Mineo said he has succeeded in dissuadingout-of-state judges from applying North Carolina law. However, hislaw partner, who teaches aviation law at Duke University, has not.

"And that's not because I'm good or he's bad," said Mineo ofMineo & Crouse of Raleigh. "It does not depend on who is arguingit. It depends on the day and the temperature of the courtroom."

Conceivably, survivors of victims sitting next to each othercould try their cases in different states and end up with differentresults, attorneys said.