The Torrington Co. v. Stutzman

The full case caption appears at the end of this opinion.

This case arises out of a Navy helicopter crash that killed two Marines. A jury found that a defective bearing in the helicopter’stail rotor assembly caused the crash. The trial court rendered judgment for the plaintiffs against the bearing’s manufacturer andthe manufacturer’s successor. We consider a number of issues, including (1) whether the plaintiffs’ negligent undertaking claimagainst the successor corporation was properly submitted to the jury, (2) whether the successor is contractually obligated toindemnify the manufacturer, (3) whether legally sufficient evidence supports the judgment against the bearing’s manufacturer, (4)whether the trial court erred in refusing to submit a jury question on the government-contractor defense, (5) whether the trialcourt applied the appropriate state’s law governing damages, (6) whether the jury verdict may be vitiated based uponexcessiveness, and (7) whether the successor waived its objection to the trial court’s determining attorney ad litem fees withoutan evidentiary hearing.