Piper Aircraft Corp. v. Evans

Plaintiffs brought these consolidated actions for the wrongful deaths of their decedents in the crash of an airplane manufactured by defendant Piper Aircraft Corporation (Piper). The primary contention on appeal regards an evidentiary ruling by the trial court which allowed into evidence several reports on exhaust system failures in aircraft. The trial court overruled Piper's objection to admission of the reports on the grounds, inter alia, that they were hearsay, basing its ruling on its opinion that they were admissible at least to show what knowledge could be imputed to Piper.

On September…