december 2011 volume 11 • number 12 - American Bonanza Society

to pay Bystander or P/O because theinsurance policy expressly ex cludedcoverage for an aircraft with out a validairworthiness certificate; and becauseP/O’s aircraft was out of annual at thetime of the accident, it didn’t have avalid airworthiness certificate. Bystand erand P/O argued that Old Republic wastrying to use a technical policy violationto avoid payment, and that in orderto avoid paying, the violation must be acause of the accident.In Old Republic Insurance Com panyv. Griffin (2005) 402 F.3d 876, thefed eral Ninth Circuit Court of Appealsconsidered whether the cov erage exclusionmust have a causal relationshipto the accident. In analyz ing thisquestion, it reviewed the laws of differentstates:A Illinois, Montana, and Texas, in oneform or another, required a con nectionbetween the accident and thecoverage exclusion. (Illinois: Am.States Ins. Co. vs. Byerly Aviation,www.bonanza.orgInc. (1978) 456 F. Supp. 967;Montana: Bayers v. Omni AviationManagers, Inc. (1981) 510 F. Supp.1204; Texas: Puckett v. U. S. FireInsurance Company (1984) 678S.W.2d 936, 938)B Colorado took a middle ground: ifa regulation is safety related – asin the case of an airworthinessrequirement – the coverage exclusionshould apply unless theinsured showed that the violationwas not the cause of the accident.(O’Connor v. Proprietors Ins. Co.(1985) 696 P.2d 282)C Arizona and California, with certainlimitations, found no causalconnection to be required. (Arizona:Security Ins. Co. of Hartford v.Andersen (1988) 158 Ariz. 426,763 P.2d 246, 249; California:National Union Fire Ins. vs. Miller(1987) 192 Cal. App.3d 866, 872-873, 237 Cal. Rptr. 632)D Florida, in different fact situations,went both ways. (Pickett v. Woods(1981) 404 So.2d 1152, 1153(Florida Dist. Ct. Appeal);Hollywood Flying Serv., Inc. v.Compass Ins. Co. (1979) 597 F.2d507, 508)At the time, Nevada law was unsettled.The federal Ninth Circuit Courtof Appeals concluded that “… the caselaw on this issue is so divergent to leaveopen the question of whether Nevadawould or would not adopt…” a causalrequirement between a coverage exclusionand the cause of the accident.Ultimately, that court “certified” thematter to the Nevada Supreme Court.The question certified was: “UnderNevada law, may an insurer denycoverage under an aviation insurancepolicy for fail ure to comply with anunambiguous requirement of the policy, or is a causal connection betweenthe insured’s non-compliance and theaccident required?”Designing Products to make aFine Aircraft Outstanding.Full Service Repair Station #OYSR774L.Over forty years serving Bonanzas and Barons.Avionics, Auto Pilot, Instruments sales andinstallation specializing in ASPEN, CobhamS-TEC, GARMIN & ULTRA.INSTRUMENT PANEL ASSEMBLY: STC PMA35 thru N35, 33 series. Upgrade, modify later modelsincluding Barons. Custom per client specifications.Install at our facility or shipped for installation by yourlocal maintenance facility.E225-8 ENGINE MODIFICATION ASSEMBLY: STC PMASeries 35 thru G35. All the benefits of the 470-260HPseries engine without the high costs.STAINLESS STEEL BATTERY BOX ASSEMBLY:STC PMA Series 35, 33, 36SECURITY LOCKING FUEL CAP ASSEMBLY:STC PMA Series 35, 33, 36, 95, 55, 56, 58, 60, 76Aviation Research Systems, Inc.Sandy River Airport 03S, Sandy Oregon • aviationresearch@msn.comwww.aviation-research.com Toll free: 888-301-9207 | 503-668-4542Volume 11 • Number 12 AMERICAN BONANZA SOCIETY 25