Aviation Liability Law, 3rd Edition by Paul Stephen Dempsey | 2025*

Aviation Liability Law, 3rd Edition by Paul Stephen Dempsey | 2025*

LexisNexis announces the release of the third edition of Aviation Liability Law by Professor Dr Paul Stephen Dempsey. This authoritative work offers an in-depth examination of liability issues arising in air transportation. It analyses the potential liability of airlines, aircraft manufacturers, airports, air navigation service providers, lessors and lessees, insurers, governments, and other parties for personal injury, death, loss, damage, and delay. The text reflects the author’s extensive experience built over decades of teaching and scholarship in both domestic and international aviation law.

Aviation Liability Law (3rd edition) delivers a global survey of aviation law case law, supported by critical commentary and practical guidance. Designed to assist busy practitioners, it includes strategic insights aimed at streamlining legal research. The book also reproduces 27 international treaties, conventions, protocols, and related legislative instruments.

Topics Covered in Aviation Liability Law, 3rd Edition by Paul Stephen Dempsey:

• Domestic and international liability
• Aviation accidents and negligence
• Government liability
• Insurance issues
• Personal injury and property damage
• Liability for death, injury, or delay
• Air cargo and baggage loss, damage, or delay
• Products liability
• Warsaw and Montreal Conventions
• Limitation periods
• Conflict of laws

What’s New in Aviation Liability Law, 3rd Edition by Paul Stephen Dempsey:

• A detailed review and analysis of key domestic and international case law developments since the last edition, published more than a decade ago
• Updated judicial interpretations of the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions, which regulate liability in commercial aviation and international air transport
• Examination of major decisions from US and common law jurisdictions (including Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong), along with relevant liability legislation in civil law systems
• Analysis of divergent approaches taken by US Courts of Appeals
• Coverage of EU air transport regulations and European Court of Justice rulings on consumer rights and compensation for flight delays and cancellations
• Inclusion of charts outlining state ratification of international air liability conventions and inflation-adjusted liability limits under the 1999 Montreal Convention
• Access to a dedicated URL providing downloadable appendices with over 25 supplementary documents

Who Should Read This Book:

• Aviation, litigation, insurance, and other legal practitioners representing clients in disputes involving injury, loss, or death arising from air accidents
• In-house counsel for airlines, insurers, and organisations regularly engaged in passenger or cargo transportation within the aviation industry
• Aviation law students seeking a comprehensive textbook on aviation tort and liability law
• Law libraries looking to strengthen their aviation law collections with an authoritative reference work

Table of Contents of Aviation Liability Law, 3rd Edition by Paul Stephen Dempsey:

Preface
Chapter 1 – Jurisdiction
Chapter 2 – Negligence
Chapter 3 – Products Liability
Chapter 4 – Accident Investigations
Chapter 5 – Governmental Liability
Chapter 6 – Surface Damage
Chapter 7 – Preemption
Chapter 8 – The Warsaw and Montreal Conventions
Chapter 9 – Subject Matter Jurisdiction Under the International Conventions
Chapter 10 – Venue in International Litigation
Chapter 11 – Time Limitations: International Claims
Chapter 12 – “Accident”: International Passenger Death and Injury
Chapter 13 – Documentary Requirements of International Carriage
Chapter 14 – Delay, Denied Boarding and Flight Cancellation
Chapter 15 – International Cargo and Baggage
Chapter 16 – Damages
Chapter 17 – Insurance

Appendices (URL located on the copyright page)
Appendix A – International Conventions on Air Carrier Liability for Passengers, Cargo and Baggage
Appendix B – Intercarrier Agreements on Air Carrier Liability for Passengers
Appendix C – European Union Regulations and Directives
Appendix D – United States Regulatory Material
Appendix E – International Convention Addressing Liability of Aircraft Commander and Crew Members For Passenger Liability
Appendix F – International Conventions on Air Operator Liability for Surface Damage
Appendix G – International Convention on Products Liability

Table of Cases
Index

About the Author:

Paul Stephen Dempsey brings more than fifty years of experience as a lawyer, academic, and airline industry executive. He is Tomlinson Professor Emeritus of Law and Director Emeritus of the Institute of Air & Space Law at McGill University in Montreal, where he taught public and private aviation law for approximately fifteen years. Prior to that, he spent over two decades as Professor of Transportation Law and Director of the Transportation Law Program at the University of Denver. Earlier in his career, he worked as a US attorney with two federal transportation agencies in Washington, DC. His academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia, a Master of Laws from George Washington University, and a Doctor of Civil Laws from McGill University.

Professor Dempsey is a former Fulbright Scholar, a recipient of the Transportation Lawyers Association Distinguished Service Award, and was named Outstanding Scholar at the University of Denver. He served for 23 years as faculty editor of the Transportation Law Journal and sat on the editorial boards of several publications, including the Denver Business Journal, The Aviation Quarterly (Lloyd’s, London), the German Journal of Air & Space Law, and the Annals of Air & Space Law. He has authored more than two dozen books, published over 100 scholarly articles, and written numerous opinion pieces for newspapers and magazines. His academic work has been cited by the Supreme Courts of Canada and Sweden, as well as by courts at state, provincial, federal, and appellate levels in Australia, Canada, and the United States. His commentary has appeared in major publications such as Newsweek, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, and The Wall Street Journal. He also hosted the weekly television program Your Right to Say It on KWGN-TV for twelve years.

In addition to his academic career, Paul Dempsey served for approximately fifteen years as Vice Chairman and Director of Frontier Airlines Holdings, Inc., and as Chairman of Lynx Aviation, Inc. He has acted as a consultant to domestic and international airlines, airports, transport operators, labour organisations, industry bodies, government agencies, and telecommunications companies. He has also appeared as an expert witness in aviation litigation across multiple jurisdictions, including Australia, Canada, France, India, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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