Treaties—Warsaw Convention—international air transportation—recovery of damages—loss of society—death in air crash—Death on the High Seas Act—maritime and admiralty law

Petitioners Marjorie Zicherman and Muriel Mahalek sought damages from respondent Korean Air Lines (KAL) under the Warsaw Convention governing international air transport, for loss of society of a family member killed aboard a commercial airliner downed by a Soviet warplane. In a cross-petition, KAL requested a determination that the Death on the High Seas Act (DOHSA) prescribed damages recoverable under the Convention and did not allow damages to be recovered for loss of society. The Supreme Court (per Scalia, J.) affirmed in part and remanded in part and held unanimously that the Convention did not permit family members to recover loss-of-society damages because (1) Article 17 of the Convention provides for carrier liability in passenger deaths or injuries but leaves the crucial definition of legally cognizable harm to be determined by domestic courts; (2) in the United States, DOHSA prescribes the substantive law covering air crashes on the high seas; and (3) DOHSA permits only pecuniary damages

Convention · Damages · Liability · Petitioner · Political science · Supreme court · Wrongful death · Conflict of Laws and Jurisdiction · International Law and Aviation · Law · Law, logistics, and international trade