Mutt,
I would take a VERY contrary view ..
(a) the FARs are MINIMUM standards and state so .. pretty typical for regs in other jurisdictions
(b) if an operator violates the declared regs then that is pretty silly
(c) but only marginally sillier than ignoring the duty of care type considerations to which I referred by implication ... just meeting the basic regs doesn't save the day in court ...