Robb & Robb names next-generation partners to carry on legacy
Kansas City Business Journal - November 21, 2024
BY JAMES DORNBROOK
Over the past 40 years, Robb & Robb LLC has built a reputation as one of the top aviation law firms in the U.S., and now its husband-and-wife founders are developing a succession plan.
Gary and Anita Robb named their son, Andrew, and his wife, Brittany, as partners of the Kansas City helicopter & plane crash law firm. They joined the firm in March 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic caused a cascade of shutdowns, including the courts. Since then, the pair has helped the firm achieve several high-profile victories.
In January, the firm earned a $100 million settlement in a wrongful death case involving a British tourist named Jonathan Udall, who took a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon in 2018.
The helicopter crashed and caught fire, resulting in Udall’s death after he sustained extensive burns. Robb & Robb argued Airbus Helicopters should be liable for damages since it refused to install a crash-resistant fuel system in its aircraft. Udall suffered no other injuries other than the burns, which Robb & Robb argued were preventable.
“Crash-resistant fuel system technology has been available since the 1970s, but Airbus wasn’t installing in it civilian helicopters, making it optional equipment,” Brittany Robb said. “Nobody does optional equipment, and the industry knows it. But after that settlement, all operators are getting these kits, and it’s changed to where hopefully we won’t see another case where people were needlessly burned and killed in an otherwise survivable crash.”
In September, Robb & Robb won a $116 million verdict in a New York helicopter tour crash case. Four passengers drowned after their helicopter crashed into the East River. Its floatation system malfunctioned, causing it to turn upside-down. The passengers were using store-bought protection gear designed for construction, not aviation, and they couldn’t release their harnesses to escape. The pilot, who was wearing an aviation seatbelt, escaped and survived.
Those recent victories add to a legacy that includes representing Kobe Bryant’s family after he and his daughter Gianna were killed in a helicopter crash, representing the Hart family after WWF Wrestler Owen Hart fell to his death during a performance at what was Kemper Arena, and representing former Missouri Sen. Jean Carnahan following the plane crash death of her husband and Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan.
“We are so proud of the legacy that they’ve built,” Andrew Robb said. “To have one husband-and-wife team pass it on to a second husband-and-wife team is really meaningful. To be able to build on a legacy that they’ve built over 40 years is something we take really seriously.”
Although the firm handles cases nationwide, Brittany Robb said the firm’s foundation was built in Missouri. All four Robbs live in Kansas City.
“Andrew and I want to make sure that we always serve Kansas City and Missouri because those are our roots,” Brittany Robb said. “It’s important to us as we continue the firm’s legacy to keep in mind that even though we are a nationwide practice, first and foremost we’re here to help our community.”
