Hart v. American Airlines, Inc.
New York Supreme Court, Special Term, New York County
304 N.Y.S.2d 810 (1969)
An American Airlines (defendant) plane crashed en route from New York to Kentucky, killing fifty-eight people, and lawsuits followed in multiple jurisdictions. A Texas federal action was the first to reach final judgment, ruling against American Airlines on liability. Loretta Hart and other representatives of deceased passengers' estates (plaintiffs), who were not parties to the Texas action, then brought an identical suit against American Airlines in New York and moved for summary judgment based on the Texas judgment.
Whether the doctrine of collateral estoppel is applicable to bar relitigation of an issue when the subsequent case is brought in a different jurisdiction.