AIRLINE LIABILITY—THE WARSAW CONVENTION- UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT OF THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA HOLDS THAT THE PASSENGER MAY BRING SUIT IN THE UNITED STATES BECAUSE IT IS KLM'S 'PLACE OF BUSINESS THROUGH WHICH THE CONTRACT WAS MADE': POLANS

摘要

The warsaw convention is an international treaty that affords protection to airline passengers who are injured by an accident while in flight. Article 28 of the Warsaw Convention identifies four places where a plaintiff can bring suit: 1) the domicile of the carrier, 2) the carrier's principal place of business, 3) the carrier's place of business through which the contract was made, or 4) the place of destination. The third provision is increasingly difficult to interpret as the aviation industry adapts to the explosive growth of online ticketing. In the recent case of Polanski v. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California correctly concluded that the United States is KLM's place of business through which the contract was made, but drastically oversimplified the analysis by examining only one factor: where the ticket was purchased. The court should have examined many other aspects of the transaction, especially since it involved an online ticket purchase.