Continuing the Tradition of Complex Aviation Litigation
In 1983, Richard Gerry argued an aviation case before the United States Supreme Court. That was before I was born.
I started as a lawyer with Casey Gerry in 2011, a few months before the terrible September 16, 2011 Reno Air Show crash which killed the aircraft pilot and 10 spectators, injuring 69 more. I remember being impressed as the firm was contacted by victims in multiple states requesting help, and eventually began representation of over 15 clients who were harmed by that catastrophe. I hoped I would be assigned to work on such a significant case. Fortunately, I was honored to get the chance to work with David Casey, Jr. and Scott Cummins on pursuing the recovery for each and every one of our clients. The $77,000,000 compensation structure was overseen by settlement master, Ken Feinberg, who had previously managed the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund, BP oil spill, and the Virginia Tech shootings. Through our hard work, we were able to obtain an 8-figure result.
This experience led me into further aviation cases at Casey Gerry. I worked on cases involving private planes, glider planes, as well as helicopters that tragically went down, leaving their loved ones devastated.
In July of 2014, Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport. Videos showed the massive Boeing 737 spinning, rearing, breaking apart, and eventually igniting on the runway. We were later contacted by San Diego residents, passengers on that plane, for whom I filed complaints in Federal Court in San Francisco. I remember flying into SFO to attend meetings on a case about innocent passengers injured or killed when flying into SFO. That was an eerie experience. We were able to reach confidential resolutions for our clients.
Since then, I have worked on Casey Gerry’s wrongful death aviation cases against an air traffic control corporation, flight club companies, engine manufacturers, avionics designers and installers, and more. One noteworthy case involved a mid-air collision near Brown Field in San Diego. In that case, I worked alongside Robert Francavilla and Casey Gerry of counsel Scott Cummins, who worked on the prior infamous mid-air collision in San Diego, PSA Flight 182 on September 25, 1978, the worst midair collision in U.S. history.
I may not get to argue an aviation case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, but I’m honored to continue the tradition of handling complex aviation cases at Casey Gerry.
Jason Evans is an associate attorney specializing in aviation litigation, personal injury, and other complex litigation. Throughout his young career, he has handled hearings, pleadings, depositions, trial, mediations and memoranda for a number of multi-million dollar civil suits and class actions. Jason has been named in San Diego Super Lawyers’ Rising Stars list every year since 2014.
