jimjim1;
Thanks for posting the link to the Thugge v. Boeing lawsuit. As you said, it "makes for attention-getting reading. I'm all too familiar with the history of the B-737 rudder problems, and think that some of the points of the lawsuit are misleading at best; however, as you said, the U.S. legal system is, if nothing else, extremely adversarial in nature. I've looked at some information on the Montreal Convention which limits air carrier liability (in most cases), but doesn't specifically cover aircraft manufacturers. Is there an international treaty limiting the liability of aircraft manufacturers?
Cheers,
Grog