LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A federal judge ruled a wrongful death lawsuit tied to the deadly UPS plane crash in Louisville will be heard in a Kentucky court after UPS tried to move the case into federal court.
United States District Court Judge David Hale said Friday that UPS "failed to show that its principal place of business is not Kentucky," therefore remanding the case back to Jefferson Circuit Court.
In previous court filings, UPS argued the company's principal place of business is in Atlanta, Georgia, making federal court the proper venue for several wrongful death lawsuits filed following the crash.
One of those lawsuits was filed by Gabriela Hermosillo-Nunez on behalf of her sister, Trinadette Chavez, a 37-year-old mother of two who was killed in the crash.
Chavez worked for Grade A Auto Parts and was one of 12 people killed at the shop after the UPS plane slammed into the the business.
Hermosillo-Nunez argued the company's "nerve center" is located in Louisville, making it the proper place of venue.
Hale agreed, and said in his ruling that several key UPS airline and safety executives work in Louisville — including President, President of Flight Operations, President of Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering, Vice President and Chief Counsel, Vice President of Airline Safety, and Vice President of Industrial Engineering — and that the company could not provide evidence that "any of its own officers, other than its Chairman, operate out of Georgia as opposed to Kentucky."
"Because UPS Co. has not met its burden to show by a preponderance of the evidence that complete diversity existed at the time of removal, the Court will remand the case," the ruling said.
UPS Flight 2976 crashed just after takeoff from Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport on Nov. 4, 2025, after its left engine and pylon separated during takeoff. The McDonnell Douglas MD-11 cargo plane, headed to Honolulu, was carrying a full fuel load for the nearly nine-hour flight when it crashed into businesses just south of the airport.
Fifteen people, including three pilots, were killed in the crash, and 23 others were injured.Â
Hermosillo-Nunez is just one of multiple families members who filed lawsuits against UPS, Boeing, GE Aerospace and maintenance contractor VT San Antonio Aerospace. In May, 15 additional lawsuits representing more than 100 plaintiffs were filed in Jefferson Circuit Court on behalf of victims' families, injured survivors and business owners seeking damages.
Federal investigators have said fatigue cracks in key engine mount components contributed to the crash. During recent NTSB hearings, investigators questioned Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration about whether design flaws and inspection failures helped cause the disaster. The NTSB’s final report is not expected for more than a year.
Sam Aguiar, who represents several families seeking damages in connection to the crash, has maintained the cases should be heard in front of a Louisville jury. When UPS originally filed the request, he accused the company of trying to strategically avoid a local jury.
"At the end of the day, we have Louisville families here. They deserve to go to downtown Louisville, walk into Jefferson Circuit Court, and be surrounded by a community of their peers," Aguiar said.
Aguiar said the difference between state and federal court can matter because jury rules differ. In Kentucky civil trials, nine of 12 jurors can decide in favor of a plaintiff, while federal civil verdicts typically require unanimity.
Two other federal cases tied to the crash are still pending.
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