Joint Ventures. Windy City Balloon Port, Ltd., operated a balloon launching facility near Barrington Hills, Illinois, offering public commercial sightseeing flights in hot-air and helium balloons owned by third parties. Windy City sold tickets for the

Question

balloon rides for $100 to $150 per person per ride. The pilot of the balloon would receive $60 to $70 directly from Windy City for each ticket sold but otherwise received no consideration from Windy City. Although Windy City provided refueling and repair facilities for the balloons and canceled balloon flights when the weather conditions were unsafe, Windy City had no control over the balloons after they departed from the balloon launch. On August 15, 1981, a hot-air balloon piloted by James Bickett departed from a launching site at Windy City. It was carrying five passengers—Kenneth Coleman, Jr., Terry Ritter, Brian Baker, William Keating, and Harry Evans. Shortly after takeoff, the balloon struck power lines and crashed to the ground, killing Bickett, Coleman, Ritter, Baker, and Keating. Evans survived, but sustained severe burns and injuries. In a lawsuit filed by representatives of the deceased passengers and others, one of the issues was whether Windy City and Bickett were involved in a joint venture. How did the court rule? Discuss fully.

Answer 1

Joint ventures
The court held that Windy City and Bickett were engaged in a joint venture, with Bickett carrying on the usual course of its business when the balloon struck the power lines and crashed to the ground. The court defined a joint venture as "an association of two or more persons to carry on a single enterprise for profit." The court explained that a joint venture may be established by such circumstances as whether the parties intended to carry on an enterprise for profit, whether the parties had a joint interest in the enterprise "as reflected by the contribution of property, finances, effort, skill or knowledge by each party of the venture," whether there was a joint exercise of control over the enterprise, and whether the parties shared in the profits. "From the record," the court concluded, "it is plain that Windy City and Bickett were engaged in a joint venture." The court also reiterated that a joint venture is governed by partnership principles and "each joint venturer is considered an agent of the joint venture for the purpose of carrying on its usual course of business. Because Bickett was carry-ing on the usual course of business of the joint venture when the balloon he was piloting crashed, we find that the hot air balloon here was an aircraft being used and operated by Windy City, by and through its agent Bickett, when it caused the injuries."