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XX Asserting and Avoiding the Preemption Defense   By Stuart Starry*   XX.1 Preemption: Generally When I was a defense lawyer, the most powerful weapon in my arsenal was the preemption defense. On several occasions I totally annihilated my opponents by obtaining outright dismissals of their cases. On many more occasions I laid to waste the best theories of liability. It was always...

Journal of Air Law and Commerce Spring, 1993 *657 FEDERAL PREEMPTION IN COMMERCIAL AVIATION: TORT LITIGATION UNDER 49 U.S.C. § 1305 Stuart J. Starry [FNa1] Copyright © 1993 by the Southern Methodist University School of Law; Staurt J. Starry I. INTRODUCTION FLIGHT 017 was an hour and ten minutes out of Baltimore when it ran into foul weather. Captain Bill Conrad flipped on the sign instructing...

Brief Fall, 1993   *8 TORTS AT TWENTY THOUSAND FEET Federal Preemption in Commercial Aviation Stuart J. Starry [FNa1] Copyright © 1993 by the American Bar Association; Stuart J. Starry Flight 017 was an hour and ten minutes out of Baltimore when it ran into foul weather. Captain Bill Conrad flipped on the sign instructing passengers to buckle up and then commenced a gradual 5,000-foot climb...

Reprinted from TRIAL, March 1994, p. 48. Transportation Preemption in the skies Stuart J. Starry Stuart J. Starry is a partner with Fleming, Hovenkamp & Grayson in Houston.  A version of this article appeared in The Brief, Fall 1993 (American Bar Association.) It is typically assumed that an airline passenger who suffers personal injury may maintain a state common law action against the...

TEXAS LAWYER, Dec. 7, 1998 Ruling Opens Door for PI Suits Against Airlines in State Courts By John Council Plaintiffs have their choice of competent aviation attorneys in Texas. But if a federal appellate challenge to the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act is specifically what they need, then Stuart J. Starry is their man. Last week, Starry, a Houston solo who represents plaintiffs, won a significant...

BY RICHARD CONNELLY     Five years ago, when he was a defense attorney, Houston lawyer Stuart Starry helped convince the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that federal law bars plaintiffs from pursuing personal injury claims against airlines in state court.     Then he became a plaintiffs' attorney.     Now Starry is basking in a victory that has the potential to stir up a world of litigation...

LOS ANGELES TIMES LAW: 9th Circuit Appellate Court Rules That Wording In Deregulation Act Should Not Shield Airlines From Liability In Personal Injury Cases Passengers suing over injuries caused by beverage carts, falling luggage or other hazards aboard commercial jetliners got a major boost Monday by a federal appeals court. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said passengers...