Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. v. Abbott

OPINION

CORNELIUS, Chief Justice.

Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc. appeals from a judgment in a bench trial awarding damages to Mary Jane Abbott and others for the death of Jeremy Abbott in a helicopter crash. A threshold question is whether Bell was improperly denied a jury trial. Because we find that Bell was entitled to a jury trial, we must reverse the judgment.

Jeremy Abbott and another passenger were killed when a helicopter crashed in British Columbia. Abbott’s survivors, all citizens and residents of Canada, sued Bell and Helicopter Accessory Services, Inc. (HAS) in Harris County, Texas.…