Subscribe

Ready to Register?

MyLawCLE All-Access Pass

Best choice

Add the All-Access Pass and get this program —
plus 1,000+ live CLE programs every year.

All specialty & ethics credits included
38 practice areas
New sections: AI & the Law, Practice Management
100s of current and trending legal topics
Nationally recognized and highly experienced presenters
$395 / year — this program included
Register with the All-Access Pass

This program + 1,000+ CLE programs, all year

Or register for just this program

Live Video Broadcast

Live webinar of this one program.
$195 Register

On-Demand Video

Recorded access + self-study credit.
$195 Register

, ,

Airline Passenger Injury Litigation: Building the Plaintiff’s Montreal Convention Case

Revised SDR compensation limits and an unresolved circuit split on personal jurisdiction have reshaped in-flight injury litigation. Learn to plead an Article 17 claim that survives preemption, choose the strongest forum under Article 33, and value damages under the updated SDR ceiling.
Register for this program
JOIN PROGRAM

2026-10-01 14:30:00

Erin R. Applebaum

Kreindler & Kreindler LLP

View speakers

Program Details

2026-10-01 14:30:00

2026-10-01 14:30:00

2h CLE Credits

2026-10-01 14:30:00

See credits by state

Erin R. Applebaum

Kreindler & Kreindler LLP

View speakers

Program Details

2026-10-01 14:30:00

Program Details

2026-10-01 14:30:00

Over 1,000+ webinars

2026-10-01 14:30:00

Course Overview

The Compensation Ceiling Just Moved, and the Forum Map Is Splitting

2026-10-01 14:30:00

In December 2024, the Special Drawing Rights compensation limits under the Montreal Convention were revised. The treaty governs passenger injury claims on international flights, so the change reprices every in-flight injury case. At the same time, an unresolved Fifth Circuit/Second Circuit divide on personal jurisdiction has unsettled where those cases can be brought.

Plead the Article 17 “accident” element loosely, and the claim fails at the threshold. Ignore Article 29, and preemption strips the state-law counts. Ask for punitive damages or standalone emotional injury, and the complaint invites dismissal. File in the wrong Article 33 forum, and the case stalls in a jurisdiction fight. The two-tier liability structure of Articles 17 and 21 — and the Article 20 contributory-negligence defense airlines commonly deploy — then shapes what the claim is worth.

This two-session program converts that terrain into practitioner work product. Attendees leave with a pleading checklist, a current map of available forums across the five-jurisdiction framework, and a structured approach to damages — including how to advise clients on realistic settlement ranges under the updated SDR ceiling.

Format

CLE Credit

2h CLE Credits

Level

Intermediate

Length

2

Key topics that will be covered

01
The “Accident” Element
How to plead the Article 17 “accident” element so the claim qualifies at the threshold, and the evidentiary threshold and case law for proving it at settlement and trial.
02
Bodily Injury and Preemption
What counts as compensable bodily injury, and how Article 29 preemption displaces state-law claims and sets punitive-damages and emotional-injury traps for the unwary complaint.
03
Two-Tier Liability Architecture
How the two-tier liability structure under Articles 17 and 21 operates after the December 2024 SDR limit increase, and what the updated ceiling changes at the settlement table.
04
Forum Selection Strategy
A current map of the five jurisdictions available under Article 33, and how the unresolved Fifth Circuit/Second Circuit personal jurisdiction divide changes where you file.
05
Physical and Psychological Damages
How to structure a damages case for bodily injury and navigate the evolving law on damages for psychological injury.
06
Contributory Negligence Defense
How to anticipate the Article 20 contributory-negligence defense airlines commonly deploy and build trial strategy around it.

Program schedule

clock 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm EST

Pleading the Montreal Convention Injury Claim and Choosing the Forum

This session walks plaintiff-side practitioners through every element required to successfully plead an Article 17 injury claim under the Montreal Convention, from threshold accident pleading through forum selection under Article 33. Attorneys will learn how to structure the complaint to survive preemption challenges, avoid punitive-damages and emotional-injury traps, and identify the strongest available forum given the current personal jurisdiction circuit split. Attendees leave with a practical pleading checklist and a current map of the five-jurisdiction landscape, including the December 2024 SDR limit revision and the unresolved Fifth Circuit/Second Circuit divide.

Erin R. ApplebaumErin R. Applebaum
clock 3:40 pm - 4:40 pm EST

Proving and Valuing In-Flight Injury Claims at Settlement and Trial

This session teaches plaintiff attorneys how to prove and value Montreal Convention bodily injury claims from the evidentiary threshold through damages quantification at settlement and trial. Attendees will master the two-tier liability architecture under Articles 17 and 21, the December 2024 SDR limit increase, the evolving law on psychological injury, and the Article 20 contributory-negligence defense. By the end of the hour, attorneys will be able to structure a damages case, anticipate the airline’s key trial defenses, and advise clients on realistic settlement ranges under the current SDR ceiling.

Erin R. ApplebaumErin R. Applebaum
Erin R. Applebaum

Erin R. Applebaum

Kreindler & Kreindler LLP

Erin R. Applebaum

Erin R. Applebaum

Kreindler & Kreindler LLP

Erin R. Applebaum is a partner at Kreindler & Kreindler LLP in New York, where her practice is devoted to aviation accident litigation, including commercial airline disasters, general aviation accidents, and claims for passengers injured during air travel. Recognized as an authority on the Montreal Convention, she writes and teaches regularly on the law governing personal injury and wrongful death claims arising on international airline flights.

Education & Credentials

Erin earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in 2007 and her Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School in 2010. She is admitted in New York and before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York. She serves as a mentor through Brooklyn Law School’s alumni mentorship program for students interested in plaintiffs’ litigation or aviation law.

Recognition & Leadership

Erin is Chair-Elect of the American Bar Association’s Aviation and Space Law Committee, Vice-Chair of the Aviation and Space Law Committee of the ABA’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, and a former co-chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Aeronautics Committee, where she also served as chair of its Subcommittee on Commercial Airline Casualty. Her recognitions include selection to Super Lawyers for 2025–2026 following a decade as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in Aviation and Aerospace Law, the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators and Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation lists, and the 2025 Compassionate Counsel Award from The Milestone Foundation.

Professional Involvement

Erin’s publications on the Convention include “An Update on the Law Governing Passenger Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Claims Arising on International Airline Flights” and “British Airways’ Position on Montreal Convention Accident Determination Rejected” in McGill’s Annals of Air and Space Law, and “Rough Skies Ahead: Legal Options for Turbulence Injuries” in the New York Law Journal. She has taught a Lawline CLE course on the Montreal Convention, presented “Litigating a Foreign Air Crash” at the ABA’s 25th Annual National Institute on Aviation Litigation, and is an active member of the American Association for Justice’s Aviation Law Section and a graduate of the 2018–19 ABA TIPS Leadership Academy.

Experience

Erin represents passengers and families in major international and domestic airline disasters. She is co-chair of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the litigation arising from the February 2025 crash landing of Delta Flight 4819 in Toronto, a court-appointed member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the January 2025 Washington, D.C. midair collision, and served for six years on the court-appointed Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302/737 MAX litigation, where she was instrumental in challenging Boeing’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the Department of Justice. Her docket has also included the Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 engine failure and the Liberty Helicopters doors-off helicopter crash in the East River, and she is a frequent commentator on aviation liability for outlets including Reuters, The New York Times, and NPR.
Erin R. Applebaum

Erin R. Applebaum

Kreindler & Kreindler LLP

Erin R. Applebaum is a partner at Kreindler & Kreindler LLP in New York, where her practice is devoted to aviation accident litigation, including commercial airline disasters, general aviation accidents, and claims for passengers injured during air travel. Recognized as an authority on the Montreal Convention, she writes and teaches regularly on the law governing personal injury and wrongful death claims arising on international airline flights.

Education & Credentials

Erin earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami in 2007 and her Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School in 2010. She is admitted in New York and before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York. She serves as a mentor through Brooklyn Law School’s alumni mentorship program for students interested in plaintiffs’ litigation or aviation law.

Recognition & Leadership

Erin is Chair-Elect of the American Bar Association’s Aviation and Space Law Committee, Vice-Chair of the Aviation and Space Law Committee of the ABA’s Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, and a former co-chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Aeronautics Committee, where she also served as chair of its Subcommittee on Commercial Airline Casualty. Her recognitions include selection to Super Lawyers for 2025–2026 following a decade as a Super Lawyers Rising Star in Aviation and Aerospace Law, the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Global Litigators and Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation lists, and the 2025 Compassionate Counsel Award from The Milestone Foundation.

Professional Involvement

Erin’s publications on the Convention include “An Update on the Law Governing Passenger Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Claims Arising on International Airline Flights” and “British Airways’ Position on Montreal Convention Accident Determination Rejected” in McGill’s Annals of Air and Space Law, and “Rough Skies Ahead: Legal Options for Turbulence Injuries” in the New York Law Journal. She has taught a Lawline CLE course on the Montreal Convention, presented “Litigating a Foreign Air Crash” at the ABA’s 25th Annual National Institute on Aviation Litigation, and is an active member of the American Association for Justice’s Aviation Law Section and a graduate of the 2018–19 ABA TIPS Leadership Academy.

Experience

Erin represents passengers and families in major international and domestic airline disasters. She is co-chair of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the litigation arising from the February 2025 crash landing of Delta Flight 4819 in Toronto, a court-appointed member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee for the January 2025 Washington, D.C. midair collision, and served for six years on the court-appointed Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302/737 MAX litigation, where she was instrumental in challenging Boeing’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the Department of Justice. Her docket has also included the Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 engine failure and the Liberty Helicopters doors-off helicopter crash in the East River, and she is a frequent commentator on aviation liability for outlets including Reuters, The New York Times, and NPR.

Credits by state

AK2.0
AL2.0
AR2.0
AZ2.0
CA2.0
CO2.0
CT2.0
DC2.0
DE2.0
FL2.0
GA2.0
HI2.0
IA2.0
ID2.0
IL2.0
IN2.0
KS2.0
KY2.0
LA2.0
MA2.0
MD2.0
ME2.0
MI2.0
MN2.0
MO2.4
MS2.0
MT2.0
NC2.0
ND2.0
NE2.0
NH120.0
NJ2.0
NM2.0
NV2.0
NY2.0
OH2.0
OK2.5
OR2.0
PA2.0
RI2.5
SC2.0
SD2.0
TN2.0
TX2.0
UT2.0
VA2.0
VT2.0
WA2.0
WI2.0
WV2.4
WY2.0

Upcoming Live Online CLE Broadcasts

Building a Healthcare Qui Tam Case: From Whistleblower to Recovery

September 21, 2026

Employee Insider Trading in Prediction Markets: Federal Prosecutions and the Policy Response for All Employers

September 21, 2026

Civil RICO for the Business Litigator: Pleading the Claim and Trebling the Damages

September 21, 2026

Hacked Email, Fake Wire Instructions, Forged Checks: Limiting Business Exposure Before Fraud Hits, UCC Defenses, Agreement Audits, and Security Procedures That Hold

September 21, 2026

Taking Private Funds Retail, RIC Qualification, and Dual Share Class Structures – Regulatory and Tax Issues

September 21, 2026

Navigating the End of “Duration of Status”: Compliance, Extensions, and Enforcement Post- September 15

September 21, 2026

Who Owns the Code? Locking Down IP Ownership and Licensing for Tech-Driven Clients

September 22, 2026

Commanding the Courtroom: Trial Persuasion Techniques That Win

September 22, 2026

When Evidence Auto-Deletes: Winning and Defending Sanctions for Lost Texts and Chats

September 22, 2026

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

10,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

1000+

Live stream programs

24/7

Access to live webinars & recordings

70,000+

Trusted by Legal Professionals

MCLE Credits

Alabama
Approved
2 General
Alaska
Approved
2 General
iOur programs are CLE-eligible through Alaska’s recognition of multi-jurisdictional reciprocity.
Arizona
Approved
2 General
Arkansas
Approved
2 General
California
Approved
2 General
Colorado
Pending
2 General
Connecticut
Approved
2 General
Delaware
Pending
2 General
District of Columbia
No Required
2 CLE Hour(s)
Florida
Approved
2 General Hours
iReceive CLE credit in Florida via attorney submission.
Georgia
Pending
2 General
Hawaii
Approved
2 General
Idaho
Pending
2 General
Illinois
Pending
2 General
Indiana
Pending
2 General
Iowa
Pending
2 General
Kansas
Pending
2 Substantive
Kentucky
Pending
2 General
Louisiana
Pending
2 General
Maine
Pending
2 General
Maryland
No Required
2 CLE Hour(s)
Massachusetts
No Required
2 CLE Hour(s)
Michigan
No Required
2 CLE Hour(s)
Minnesota
Pending
2 General
Mississippi
Pending
2 General
Missouri
Approved
2.4 General
Montana
Pending
2 General
Nebraska
Pending
2 General
imyLawCLE reports attendance to Nebraska on each attorney’s behalf for all programs. Please do not self-report.
Nevada
Pending
2 General
New Hampshire
Approved
120 General minutes
iAs of July 1, 2014, the NHMCLE Board no longer provides pre- or post-approval of courses. Attendees must self-determine whether a program is eligible for credit, and self-report their attendance online at www.nhbar.org, based on qualification provisions of Rule 53.
New Jersey
Approved
2 General
iOur programs are CLE-eligible through New Jersey’s recognition of multi-jurisdictional reciprocity, except for the courses required under BCLE Reg. 201:2
New Mexico
Approved
2 General
New York
Approved
2 General
iOur programs are CLE-eligible through New York’s Approved Jurisdiction Group “B”.
North Carolina
Pending
2 General
North Dakota
Approved
2 General
iOur programs are CLE-eligible through North Dakota’s recognition of multi-jurisdictional reciprocity. Section 1, Policy 1.14
Ohio
Approved
2 General
Oklahoma
Pending
2.5 General
Oregon
Pending
2 General
Pennsylvania
Approved
2 General
Rhode Island
Pending
2.5 General
South Carolina
Pending
2 General
South Dakota
No Required
2 CLE Hour(s)
Tennessee
Approved
2 General
Texas
Approved
2 General
Utah
Pending
2 General
Vermont
Approved
2 General
Virginia
Not Eligible
2 General Hours
Washington
Approved
2 Law & Legal Hours
iReceive CLE credit in Washington via attorney submission.
West Virginia
Pending
2.4 General
Wisconsin
Pending
2 General
Wyoming
Pending
2 General

Alabama

Requirements

The Alabama State Bar MCLE Commission requires attorneys to complete 12 credits, including 1 ethics, by December 31 of each year. All credits must be reported by February 15 of the following year. A maximum of 12 credits, including 1 ethics credit, may be carried over for 1 year only.  

Formats

  • Attorneys can earn unlimited “live” credit through live seminars, live webcasts, and co-sponsored locations with MyLAWCLE-Alabama approved programs
  • Attorneys are limited to 6 credits per compliance period of “online” programs through MyLAwCLE On-Demand programs