I know someone who's SO was sexually assaulted and all I can advise is that the passenger is right to go after United and FedEx, but should aim for a lot more than $75k. She lost her criminal case. We don't know all the facts but based on the OP's post United didn't exactly act in a proactive way here to put a stop to this after round one which is shameful, but again we don't know all the facts. These sorts of incidents can ruin people's lives forever, sadly in the case of the victim and unfortunately in the case of the FedEx pilot, and another big scratch on United's reputation. Only people who win here are the attorneys.
Originally Posted by
laxmillenial
So..let me see if I got this straight
July 2016 - Incident "allegedly" occurs
December 2016 - Criminal Lawsuit Filed
June 2017 - "Alleged assailant" acquitted of all charges
And now... July 2018 - Suing United? Sounds like a $$$ grab to me.
My questions:
"No open seats", yet she was moved to another seat in the same row. Interesting contradiction...
How can you sue United when the assailant was cleared of all charges? So what are you suing United for? According to the courts, there was no wrongdoing?
Edit: This is just me thinking out loud (and it might be a little harsh, so sorry in advanced), but if someone was touching me inappropriately and there was an empty seat a couple of seats away or across the aisle, I would move without asking. Why sit there and endure this torment? Why not do something (the little that you possibly can do on an aircraft) to make the situation a little less tormenting?
You can pursue a civil and and a criminal case. The criminal case would be against the FedEx pilot. The civil litigation against United could be handled through a lawsuit and settled in mediation or other ways.