There was plenty of finger pointing when a popular engine used in small airplanes began to fail, causing deadly crashes and a worldwide recall. Lycoming, a susidiary of Textron, had a legal strategy that amounted to diverting blame at all cost, claiming that tiny Navasota, Texas-based Interstate Southwest, Ltd., was responsible for supplying defective crankshafts that caused the engines to fail.

After an exhaustive investigation and legal battle in which attorneys from the Dallas law firm Rose•Walker became experts in the intricacies of plane engine design, a Grimes County jury sided with Interstate Southwest, dinged Lycoming for fraud and handed Interstate Southwest a $96 million verdict in 2005. The verdict was later reduced by an appeals court, but the Supreme Court of Texas this week upheld the trial court's key rulings that Lycoming alone is responsible for the design defects that caused the engine failures. The appeals court's decision effectively closes the door on any legal attempts to hang blame on Interstate Southwest and also wipes out Lycoming's $186 million counterclaim against Interstate Southwest.

The ruling should end six years of litigation, says attorney Marty Rose of Rose•Walker. "This Supreme Court decision means Interstate Southwest wins and Lycoming loses - it's as simple as that," Walker says. "A jury of 12 people looked at this and said that Lycoming was to blame. This decision affirms that."