Lawsuit Claims AA Flight Attendant Purposely Spilled Red Wine on Wedding Dress

A bride flying to a destination wedding says that a cabin crew member “viciously” doused her expensive wedding gown with wine after becoming irritated about a request to accommodate the dress in a closet.

A newlywed bride has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines accusing a flight attendant of intentionally trying to wreck her nuptials. Yewande Oteh says that after a flight attendant purposely poured wine over her wedding gown en route from Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) to Montego Bay Sangster International Airport in Jamaica (MBJ), the airline failed to properly investigate the matter.

“American Airlines and its personnel robbed all of us of this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Oteh’s mother and attorney of record, Yvette Sterling told a federal courtroom on Tuesday. Court records obtained by the New Jersey Courier-Post, reveal that the lawsuit stems from events on a flight in August of 2015.

According to the claim, a cabin crew member became incensed when the bride-to-be requested the use of a closet in the aircraft cabin for her wedding gown. The suit claims that even though a gate agent told her she would be able to use the wardrobe space, Oteh simply placed her dress by itself in an overhead bin after being refused the use of the closet.

Later, Oteh alleges in the legal action, she noticed the same flight attendant gathered with coworkers near the compartment that contained her dress. “It was her belief that the flight attendants were placing something in the bin and making fun of [Oteh] and her wedding gown,” the court filing states. When the wedding party arrived at MBJ it allegedly became clear that the gown was ruined after being doused with red wine.

The lawsuit is seeking damages based on the airline’s “negligence and infliction of emotional distress.” The flight attendant accused of destroying the dress, was not named as a defendant in the case, but Oteh is asking the airline to pay over $75,000 in restitution for herself and each of four family members (including her son who was just nine months old at the time) who accompanied her on the trip.

“We are reviewing the lawsuit,” American Airlines told the newspaper in a brief statement Tuesday.