Antonin Scalia

“ Quite obviously, however, the limitation of liability for baggage and freight (about $16.50 per kilogram, see Article 22 (2) ) was not set with an eye to fair value (the very notion of a "fair" average value of goods per kilogram is absurd) , but perhaps with an eye to fair level of liability in relation to profit on the carriage-so that the shipper of lost goods misled by the inadequate notice would not be compensated equitably. ”

“ When such an interpretation is allowed, the art of draftsmanship will have become obsolete.
Petitioners and the United States as amicus curiae seek to explain the variance between Section I and Sections II and III (as well as the clear text of Article 3) as a drafting error, and lead us through the labyrinth of the Convention's drafting history in an effort to establish this point. It would be absurd, they urge, for defective notice to eliminate liability limits on baggage and air freight but not on personal injury and death. Perhaps not. ”

“ If one wades through the minutes of the Comite International Technique d'Experts Juridiques Aeriens (CITEJA) meetings and of the Warsaw Conference, as well as the various drafts that were produced en route to the final Convention, one finds virtually no support for the Court's theory of what Article 3 means. For the Court's theory of the first sentence of Article 3 (2) one finds absolutely none, and plenty that makes it most unlikely that the drafters intended the reading the Court gives. ”

“ Quite obviously, the use of 8-point type instead of 10-point type for the liability limitation notice is not a shortcoming of such magnitude; indeed, one might well select that as a polar example of what could not possibly prevent a document from being a ticket. ”

“ The concurrence's analysis provides guidance in all cases where notice of liability limitation is provided in 8-point rather than 10-point type. 4-point type, we are told, "may well" yield a different result, see post, at 150 always assuming, of course (what the concurrence does not venture to decide) that the Convention contains an "adequate notice" requirement. As for 6-point type, we have no hint whether that might entail liability if there is any liability for inadequate notice. We choose not to follow a mode of analysis that seems a wasteful expenditure of this Court's time.↑ Cf. ”

“ It is, to be sure, possible that the drafters intended to create a different regime for the passenger ticket than for the baggage check and the air waybill. The latter reading draws some support from the Reporter's explanation of the changes made in Article 4 concerning the baggage check: "The last paragraph was not modified like Ar icle 3; that is to say that we have retained the same sanctions in the case of errors in the particulars. . . ." ”

“ She states flatly: "Article 3 makes no distinction among the particulars: 'the carrier must deliver a passenger ticket which shall contain the following particulars.' Stated differently, all are obligatory." Id., at 28 (translation mine) . This is also the conclusion reached by the Quebec Court of Appeal in Ludecke v. Canadian Pacific Airlines Ltd., 53 D.L.R.3d 636, 638 (1974) (" [T] he carrier must deliver a ticket which satisfies the mandatory requirements of art. 3 (1) which article is in effect, a definition. ”

“ The Reporter, in presenting the revision of Article 3 to the plenary session, characterized the Greek concern as follows: " [T] he sanction is too severe when it's a question of a simple omission, of the negligence of an employee of the carrier. ”

“ C. McCormick, Law of Damages § 104 (1935) ("In about one-third of the states, a fixed limit upon the recovery under the Death Act is imposed in the statute. The usual limit is $10,000, but in some instanc § the maximum is $7,500 or $5,000") . ”

“ All 269 persons on board the plane perished. Survivors of the victims filed wrongful-death actions against KAL in several Federal District Courts, all of which were transferred for pretrial proceedings to the District Court for the District of Columbia pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407. All parties agree that their rights are governed by the Warsaw Convention, a multilateral treaty governing the international carriage of passengers, baggage, and cargo by air. Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Transportation by Air, Oct. ”

“ Id., at 260-264 (emphasis added) .↑ Since the Greek amendment was classified as one of secondary importance, it was considered in the "preparatory committee," which made no record of its debates, rather than on the floor. Thus, the only clues as to the reason for the change come from the wording of the Greek proposal and from the comments of the Reporter in presenting the preparatory committee's work to the plenary session.↑ "In Chapter 2, we examine the matter of transport documents: passenger ticket, baggage check, air waybill for goods. ”