LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — A wrongful death lawsuit against UPS in connection to the death of a Jefferson County woman after the crash of UPS Flight 2976 has been remanded back to Kentucky by a federal judge, documents reveal.
37-year-old Trinadette Chavez died in November 2025 after a UPS plane crashed into the industrial district surrounding the Louisville airport. Her sister, Gabriela Hermosillo-Nunez, previously filed a lawsuit alleging five counts of wrongful death against UPS.
According to an opinion filed Friday, Judge David J. Hale ruled that the global shipping company could not support its claim that it's "nerve center" was in Atlanta and not Louisville.
"...UPS Co. has failed to show that its principal place of business is not Kentucky under the current corporate structure. Because complete diversity is therefore lacking, the Court will remand the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction," Hale said.
The opinion goes on to say that despite 34 of UPS's officers being located in Atlanta, including the company's chairman, several high ranking officers operate from Kentucky.
Hale goes on to say that UPS does not provide evidence that any officers, other than the company's chairman, operate out of Georgia rather than Kentucky.
However, Hermosillo-Nunez offers "undisputed evidence that UPS Co.’s 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 are located in, and manage aspects of UPS Co.’s affairs from, Louisville."
11 people, including Chavez and three UPS officers, were killed in the crash. Multiple wrongful death lawsuits have been filed in the months following the crash.
