News bulletins re Air France AF447

... Latest News Bulletin, 22 October 2009, from Stewarts Law

Sixteen international families who lost their loved ones on Air France 447 have asked their international legal team of Stewarts Law LLP, Bowles & Verna and the Wisner Law Firm, to file proceedings in the US Courts in Illinois and California this week against various corporations responsible for and involved in the manufacturing of the Airbus A330. This was in response to the first lawsuit filed in Texas by an American family last month, as well as to put pressure on all the potentially responsible parties in the interests of getting to the causes of the tragedy and furthering air safety.

This first set of families believe that their interests need to be protected in light of the start of litigation in the US Courts. Notably Air France are not named in the Illinois and California proceedings, due to restrictions in the Montreal Convention that prevents direct actions by most of the AF447 families against Air France in the US. Inevitably however, Air France and their insurers will be drawn into having to deal fairly with these lawsuits as well as the manufacturing defendants.

A second similar sized set of families, also represented by the same international legal team, will be joining these lawsuits in the near future.

It is notable that the initial public response from the Defendants in these lawsuits was one of denial and defiance, and no sympathy was expressed to any of the families of the 228 who lost their lives on AF447. It may well transpire that extended finger pointing goes on between the manufactuers and the airline, with no one willing to apologise and take responsibility for this preventable accident.