POTOMAC AVIATION, LLC V. PORT AUTHORITY OF NY AND NJ, ET ALS. A-3128-08T2 (5-5-10)
Defendant fell asleep at the wheel of her car and crashed
through a perimeter fence at Teterboro Airport, striking and
significantly damaging, plaintiff's plane. The plane was parked
in a portion of the airport leased by defendant First Aviation
Services from the airport's owner, the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey. Plaintiff sued both, along with the driver
and owners of the car.
After settling with the driver and owners, plaintiff's
complaint against the remaining defendants was dismissed on
summary judgment. Plaintiff, on appeal, argued that First
Aviation Services was presumed to be negligent as bailee of the
plane, and that both defendants were negligent for failing to
secure the perimeter fence to resist any incursion by vehicles
straying from the adjacent street.
We affirmed the grant of summary judgment on grounds
different than those expressed by the motion judge. We
concluded that plaintiff failed to adduce any proof of the
bailee's negligence beyond the presumption which had been
adequately rebutted. We further concluded that while the
accident was foreseeable, the scope of the duty owed by
defendants, either as landlord or lessee of the premises, did
not include the obligation to place guide rail or other
protective devices along the roadway to safeguard against the
negligence of those using the road.
