IN RE: Air Crash Disaster in the Ionian Sea on September 8, 1974

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Jn! ANT
DOCKET NO. 288 TH re TonFILED
BEFORE THE JUDICIAL PANEL ON MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION	26 1976
IN RE AIR CRASH DISASTER IN THE IONIAN SEA ON SERFEMBER Se, hg 74
CLERK OF THE PANEL
TRANSFER ORDER
While en route from Athens, Greece, to Rome, Italy, Trans
World Airlines, Inc. Flight No. 841, a Boeing 707 aircraft,
crashed on the high seas. Included among the passengers who
died as a result of the crash were 36 Americans and 43 foreign
nationals.
There are 14 actions arising from this disaster presently
pending in four federal districts: nine in the Southern District
of New York, two in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, two
in the District of Maryland and one in the Northern District of
California. One of the New York actions had originally been
instituted in the District of New Jersey but was transferred to
the Southern District of New York pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §l404(a).
An additional action had been removed to the Southern District
of New York but was subsequently remanded to New York state
court.
The various defendants named in the actions include TWA,
The Boeing Company and four TWA officers and/or employees
being sued for acts or ommissions allegedly occurring in the
course of their employment.
This matter is before the Panel on the motion of TWA and
the four individual defendants to transfer all actions in the
litigation to the Southern District of New York for coordi-
nated or consolidated pretrial proceedings pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§1407. Boeing supports the motion as do plaintiffs in all of
the actions pending in the Southern District of New York.
Plaintiffs in the actions pending in the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania have responded to the motion but have taken no
position either in support of or in opposition to the requested
transfer. Plaintiff in the California action does not oppose
transfer but requests that the Panel remand that action to the
Northern District of California at the conclusion of the common
discovery. Plaintiffs in the Maryland actions did not respond
to the motion.

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We find that these actions involve common questions of
fact and that their transfer to the Southern District of New
York for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings
under Section 1407 will best serve the convenience of the
parties and witnesses and promote the just and efficient
conduct of the litigation.
The existence of common questions of fact among these
actions, as is usually the case in multidistrict air disaster
litigation, is readily apparent. This commonality and the
corresponding need for centralized pretrial proceedings in
this litigation is not undermined by the presence of differing
legal theories in some of these actions with regard to the
respective liabilities of Boeing, TWA and the four individual
defendants. See, e.9., In re Air Crash Disaster at Cincinnati
Airport, 295 F. Supp. 51 (J.P.M.L. 1968); In re Duarte,
California, Air Crash Disaster on June 6, 1971, 354 F. Supp.
278, 289 (J.P.M.L. 1973). Moreover, the absence of any
opposition to the requested transferl/ highlights the obvious
factual commonality among these actions.
We agree that the Southern District of New York is the
appropriate transferee forum for this litigation. There are
more actions pending in that district than in any other and
discovery has already advanced in several of the actions
there. Since TWA maintains its principal place of business
in the Southern District of New York and the four individual
defendants reside in or near there, a substantial amount of
the relevant discovery will occur in that district.
Plaintiff in the California action has requested that we
presently determine the propriety of remand of that action
once the coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings
have been concluded. Such a request is, in our view, fatally
premature and further, would infringe on the transferee
judge's discretion in making orders he deems appropriate to
effectuate the expeditious and harmonious conduct of the
litigation.
l/ The failure of the Maryland plaintiffs to respond to the
motion is deemed as their acquiescence to the action requested
therein. Rule 7, R.P.J.P.M.L., 65 F.R.D. 253, 256 (1975).

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the actions listed on the
attached Schedule A and pending in districts other than the
Southern District of New York be, and the same hereby are,
transferred to the Southern District of New York. and, with
the consent of that court, assigned to the Honorable Marvin E.
Frankel for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1407 with the actions pending in that
district and listed on Schedule A.
FOR THE PANEL:
| Maw WIS
John Minor Wisdom
Chairman

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SCHEDULE A
MDL-229 —-- IN RE AIR CRASH DISASTER IN THE IONIAN SEA ON
SEPTEMBER 8, 1974
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
Theodore Pallas, etc., et al. v. Trans World Civil Action
Airways, Inc., et al. No. 75 Civ.209 (MEF)
Ruth Ann Reed, Adm., et al. v. Forwood Cloud Civil Action
Wiser, Jr., et al. No. 75 Civ.4015 (MEF)
Gily Epstein Bard, et al. v. Trans World Civil Action
Airlines, Inc. No. 75 Civ.3136 (MEF)
Avrum Peter Katzman, etc., et al. v. Trans Civil Action
World Airlines, Inc., et al. No. 75Civ.4537 (MEL)
George Argyropoulos, et al. v. Trans World Civil Action
Airlines, Inc., et al. No. 75 Civ.4561 (EW)
Ann P. Giorgi, etc. v. Trans World Airlines, Civil Action
Inc., et al. No. 75 Civ.4586 (HFW)
Louis L'!Esperance, etc. v. Trans World Civil Action
Airlines, Inc. No. 75Civ.4383 (CHT)
Louise L'Esperance, etc. v. Forwood Cloud Civil Action
Wiser, Jr., et al. No. 75 Civ.4384 (MEF)
Riccardo Masera, etc. v. Trans World Civil Action
Airlines, Inc., et al. No. 75 Civ. 4842 (CBM)
EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Estate of Tej Shah, etc., et al. v. Trans Civil Action
World Airlines, Inc. No. 75-149 (CCN)
Hermant Shah, Adm. v. Trans World Airlines, Civil Action
Inc. No. 75-2408 (CCN)
DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
Pete Gus Chakalakis, etc. v. Trans World Civil Action
Airlines, Inc. No. HM-75-1262
Florentia Chakalakis, Adm. v. Trans World Civil Action
Airlines, Inc. No. HM-75-1263
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIF(R NIA
Lee H. Benedict, etc. v. Trans World Civil Action
Airlines, Inc., et al. No. C75-1802-AJZ