Richards v. United States

An American Airlines plane crashed in Missouri en route from Oklahoma to New York, killing everyone aboard; surviving family members (plaintiffs) received the $15,000 maximum settlement available under Missouri law from the airline, then sued the FAA (defendant) in Oklahoma federal court under the Federal Tort Claims Act, alleging the FAA negligently failed to enforce maintenance regulations at its Tulsa office. The parties agreed the negligence occurred in Oklahoma and the injury in Missouri; because Oklahoma's own conflict-of-law rules directed courts to apply the law of the place of death in wrongful-death suits, the district court applied Missouri law and dismissed the case, since the plaintiffs had already received Missouri's maximum recovery from the airline. The court of appeals affirmed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.