Asiana Airlines Inc. (020560) could avoid hundreds of millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements by employing a tactic under international law to bar Chinese and South Korean passengers from suing in victim-friendly U.S. courts over the crash of Flight 214. With the possibility of hundreds of claims against the South Korean airline, litigators said the carrier will be looking for ways to minimize the expense of the July 6 disaster, which killed two 16-year-old Chinese girls and injured 181 other passengers when a 777 jet tried to land at San Francisco International Airport. Asiana may argue under the Montreal Convention that most if not all of the Chinese and South Korean passengers ultimate destination was their home countries, since they probably held round-trip tickets, and thats where they should file their claims.
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