adam.bruss@gdmac.com wrote:
> For liability reasons I am parting it out.
You can be conservative as you wish, but numerous articles
out there by attorneys don't get excited about builder
liability. Litigation here is rare enough to be considered
virtually nonexistent (EAA says it hasn't happened yet).
The problems are: a) Most always no deep pockets for this
kind of suit; b) No strict liability -- must prove builder
error and that the error was negligent under possibly a low
standard of care; and c) Jury reaction. A grieving widow
never helps, but still, to a jury small planes are
dangerous. The concept of homebuilts is unfathomable. What
assumptions was the buyer making? So, to punish a defendant
like themselves, it must be technically proven to them that
the builder did something really wrong, and the buyer had a
right to expect better.
To play safe anyway, burn your construction log. Save the
build manual, so you have a record of the revisions used.
Have a reputable A&P do a condition inspection. He signs
the log on a blank page, which you carefully remove and
save. Buyer doesn't know about that; it implies assurance
of safety (I muse at ads which say "built by an A&P").
Don't make any statements about its safety. If asked,
merely refer the seller to the NTSB web site. Re anything
not done per the manual, save any documentation it works
just fine on other Europas or other homebuilts.
A case in point is the John Denver case, where a jury might
try to punish anybody for causing that particular death.
And the builder appears faulted in this one. Yet reportedly
the builder didn't have to pay anything. It was settled
with two corporations who had little to do with the cause of
the crash.
One of the articles warns of liability in parting it out, to
the extent there is concern over exposure. You're liable as
to the parts sold in the same way as the assembled plane,
and placing them into multiple hands for uses unknown.
There's deep pockets behind the engine and instruments, but
you're potentially liable as to fiberglass structure and any
other component you fabricated or assembled.
Of course, and similar to Lucy's booth in the Peanuts
cartoon -- "Legal Advice - 5 cents." :-)
Fred F.
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