# Joe J. Hudgens, Phyllis Hudgens v. Bell Helicopters/Textron, Dyncorp

> Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · April 25, 2003 · 328 F.3d 1329

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9415753

## Case

- **Full name:** Joe J. HUDGENS, Phyllis Hudgens, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. BELL HELICOPTERS/TEXTRON, Defendant, DynCorp, Defendant-Appellee; Francis Mark Crawford, Becky Crawford, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. DynCorp, Defendant-Appellee, Bell Helicopters/Textron, Defendant
- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- **Decided:** April 25, 2003
- **Citations:** 328 F.3d 1329; 2003 WL 1955173
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Concurrence by Cox
- **Judges:** Edmondson, Barkett, Cox
- **Cited by:** 37 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9415753

## How later opinions describe it (automated extraction)

- holding in products liability claim against a maintenance contractor that the trial court did not err in excluding an engineer’s opinion regarding spar cracks in a vertical fin because expert offered ″no explanation of how he formed the opinion″ nor did he explain ″the likelih…
- reasoning that the essential question under Boyle v. United Technologies Corp. is “whether subjecting a contractor to liability under state tort law would create a significant conflict with a unique federal interest”
- holding claims that service contractor negligently maintained military helicopters preempted by the discretionary functions exception
- finding Boyle’s analysis “is not designed to promote all-or-nothing rules regarding different classes of contract”
- finding the defense applicable where a private service contractor faced a negligent-maintenance contract lawsuit

## Opinion text

COX, Circuit Judge,
specially concurring:
I concur in the judgment, and I join Judge Barkett’s opinion except for Part IIC.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9415753. Public record. Not legal advice.