Case Notes: Marcela Diaz, et al. v. Miami Air Int’l, Inc., No. 3:21-cv-413-YJC-SJH, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2024 WL 4651871(M.D. Fla. 1 Nov. 2024)

A United States federal court in the Eleventh Circuit recently weighed in on the issue regarding recovery of mental injury damages under Article 17(1) of the Montreal Convention (MC). In litigation arising from the Miami Air International (MAI) Flight 293 accident in Jacksonville, Florida, the court granted MAI’s motion for partial summary judgment, (No. 3:21-cv-413- TJC-SJH, __ F. Supp. 3d __, 2024 WL 4651871 (M.D. Fla. Nov. 1, 2024)), holding that mental injury damages are recoverable only when they flow from a physical injury caused by an Article 17 accident. The court joined the majority view in the United States and expressly rejected the outlier opinion in Doe v. Etihad Airways, (870 F.3d 406 (6th Cir. 2017)), which had interpreted Article 17(1)’s text as allowing recovery for unrelated mental injuries provided the passenger sustains a physical injury.