Media Reviews
The Law and Liability of Small Aircraft By Cecil C. Kuhne III ABA Book Publishing, 2018 Reviewed by Anietie Akpan
The Houston Lawyer
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arning! If you have a fear of flying, this is not the book (review) for you. Everyone else—read on! Written by Cecil C. Kuhne III of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Dallas office, The Law and Liability of Small Aircraft (Small Aircraft), provides in-depth discussion of the jurisprudence of aviation, namely dealing with difficult issues of liability from flying small aircraft. It is a densely written resource containing no less than 15 federal court cases describing the wide array of legal issues that frequently arise in aviation litigation, including but not limited to, products and tort liability, property damage, compliance matters under the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and federal evidentiary and procedural matters regarding the same. The legal discussions of Small Aircraft are divided into two broad categories: “Product Liability” and “Regulatory Scheme.” While the former addresses legal issues and court decisions regarding aircraft design, engine manufacturing, pilot error and flight training, the latter discusses FAA compliance, such as safety regulations and fiduciary duties of FAA officials. This book also contains a set of appendices of federal circuit 42
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and U.S. Supreme Court opinions highlighting lower court decisions discussing negligence, strict tort liability and federal evidentiary conflicts regarding investigatory reports. Each chapter is between five and seven pages, in which the author succinctly provides the fact history of a unique aviation legal issue, describes its litigation history and subsequently provides the final holding of the court. The chapters are further divided into important subsections, showcasing the book’s easy readability. For example, Chapter 5’s examination of the 5th Circuit’s Moorhead v. Mitsubishi Aircraft International, Inc. case (addressing a pilot’s negligence by waiting too long to fly out of dangerous weather) is partitioned into smaller paragraph discussions entitled: “Standard of Due Care,” “Airspeed Indicator,” “Pilot Negligence,” “Evidentiary Rulings,” and so forth, giving the reader an easy roadmap to follow the respective court’s analysis of the factual and legal issues at hand. While reading Small Aircraft, you will come across chapters with titles such as, “Crashworthy Aircraft: Is the Design Adequate?,” “Fuel System: Why Did the Engine Stall?,” and “Runway Collision: Who Is at Fault?” which admittedly, may not come across as particularly—ahem— comforting. However, the plethora of case analysis this book provides, as well as its highly organized structure, make it an incredible resource for the personal injury, products liability or tort attorney who may be seeking an introduction to a unique jurisprudence likely to manifest in their respective areas of practice. Anietie Akpan serves as in-house counsel for METRO and is an Associate Editor for The Houston Lawyer. After reading and reviewing this book, it is highly unlikely you
thehoustonlawyer.com
will find her on an airplane anytime in the near future.
Doing Justice: A Prosecutor’s Thoughts on Crime, Punishment and the Rule of Law By Preet Bharara Penguin Random House, 2019 Reviewed by Tim McInturf
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ormer United States Attorney (US Attorney) for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Preet Bharara, became wellknown in the financial and legal community for high profile Wall Street investigations and prosecutions (e.g., SAC Capital) in the same way former mayor Rudy Giuliani became famous for prosecuting so-called junk-bond trader Michael Milken. Prosecutions of really rich Wall Street people or firms tend to receive lots of attention. Bharara also became well known for prosecuting New York State public officials. Prosecution of public officials tends to receive lots of attention. In short, whether intentionally or not, Bharara became a public figure during his seven and one-half years as US Attorney for the SDNY. Bharara, who was appointed by President Obama, writes in the very first paragraph of his book about the fact that he was fired by President Trump. He omits that after Attorney General Jeff Sessions was confirmed by the United States Senate, Sessions requested the resignations of all US Attorneys
