John K. Vreeland v. Danny Ferrer

Summary

Justice Polston dissented from the majority's interpretation of the federal aircraft-liability statute. He would have held that federal law preempts Florida's dangerous-instrumentality doctrine because the statute shields an aircraft owner from vicarious liability for another person's negligence when the aircraft was not in the owner's possession or control. He further reasoned that a passenger's death in a crash occurs "on land" when the aircraft hits the ground, regardless of whether the passenger was inside the aircraft.