Illinois Appellate Court Allows Vicarious Liability Claim To Proceed Against Hotel Company In Plane Crash Case Even Though No Ownership Interest

A surviving spouse filed an action for wrongful death of a passenger involved in a small plane crash while en route from Kansas to Illinois.  Among various other defendants, the plaintiff sued the estate of one of the other passengers, a co-owner of the plane who was also the founder and president of a hotel company.  The plaintiff sued the co-owner for negligent entrustment and negligent supervision of the pilot.

The co-owner allegedly was aware that the pilot may not have been qualified to fly the aircraft at issue and was allegedly observing and supervising the pilot, who was interested in becoming a part-owner of the plane.  Even though the hotel had no property interest in the plane, the plaintiff also sued the co-owner’s hotel company under a respondeat superior theory.  According to the plaintiff, the hotel was vicariously liable because the co-owner was, at least in part, engaged in business for the hotel by flying to Kansas to discuss potential hotel sites.

The trial court granted the hotel’s motion to dismiss, agreeing that the relationship between the co-founder’s trip and operation of the plane was too attenuated to the hotel’s business, but an Illinois appellate court disagreed last week, finding that the evidence was unclear as to whether and to what extent the defendant was traveling for hotel or personal reasons.  The appellate court reversed and will allow the claim against the hotel to proceed.