n198ua

Posted without comment.

The linked news article does contain graphic information that may be unsuitable for some readers.

http://tinyurl.com/nyepmya

Loren Pechtel

False imprisonment??


If she has any way to prove what happened she'll collect on this but how did United imprison her in any way other than what she already consented to in taking the flight?

exerda

False imprisonment? What, did she expect UA would give her a parachute and let her jump?

I do find it hard to believe the FAs and captain didn't take any action.

gnetwerker

The claim will be that by not letting the plaintiff change seats away from the masturbater, she was tortiously confined to a restricted space against her will. The key word is "tortious", meaning "causing damages". This is a civil case, not a criminal one, and since the perp has been convicted, plaintiff will argue that (e.g.) she should have been switched with a male passenger, and in not doing so, she was damaged. They won't have to prove that the action she was made to witness was illegal. Don't get hung up on the actual name of the charge, in civil cases it is all about the damages, and whether the defendant (in this case United) had a responsibility that they (negligently) failed to uphold.

Another minor (no pun intended) wrinkle here is the plaintiff may not have had standing to sue until she turned 18. I'm not certain on that point of law, but it may have affected the question of whether or not a prior complaint was filed.

I am explaining above, not taking a position on the merits of the case.

edcho

Maybe land in ORD and kick her off... just like the parents who complained about the movie.

Usually, I would doubt the story but in this case, I have a feeling that they have the complaint hidden on someone's desk under a pile of papers.

villox

As with most short articles, there must be more to the story. The story almost makes it seem like UA's lawyers would be hearing about all this for the first time, but it seems highly suspicious that this guy could have been convicted of a sex offense without a lot of testimony, for example from the FA and other passengers.

gnetwerker

I should add that Gloria Allred, the lawyer for the plaintiff, is a well-known (some would say infamous) feminist attorney, having represented one of Tiger Woods' paramours, the woman responsible for the downfall of Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd, and other women in suits against celebrities. My favorite, for some reason, is this: "In a March 2008 complaint against the TSA, Allred represented a client who was given a pliers and told to remove her nipple rings at a Lubbock, Texas, airport."

With Allred involve, you can be certain that this will get some ink, unless UA settles quickly (which is most likely).

denver19

If I had a nickel for every time I sat next to some passenger masturbating... Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot

njcommodore

well I would have a nickel. Happened to me once. The guy did it under a blanket though. Not that it's any better.

pigx5

Very interesting to hear she says that the FA said "there is nothing that they can do."
New United really should consider to change their slogan to "Fly the there is nothing we can do airline."

--
I also feel it's unbelievable that the FA did not do anything for this situation.
Hope can hear the other side of this story soon.

Puppenstein

How does Gloria Allred find all these people? That is the important question here. She is the very definition of lawyer scum. I just can't believe this story. There is no age requirement for when you can sue. One could say that she actually had more leverage when she was younger and should have filed the case then. I have been on a lot of flights and never have had any incident like that happen. Doesn't mean it is impossible, but I just can't accept that a flight attendant or any airline employee would allow for something like that. I am certain other passengers would have made an issue out of it.

FlyWorld

Well, then, it sounds like Smisek has met a worthy match.

Why would UA settle when they are willing to fight to defend much more serious matters.

More "special charges" on the income statement and income for lawyers.

SittingUpFront

Correction: the parents who tampered with aircraft equipment.

colpuck

I assume you mean standing with a little s not Standing in the legal sense. Before she turned 18 her parents would have had to act on her behalf. After she turned 18 she was able to do it on her own.

Also not as an under-18 her name would have been redacted from the complaint and probably would have reduced the publicity the lawyer would have received.

gnetwerker

I did mean "standing" in a legal sense, because the parents may not have wanted to litigate, and the statute of limitations essentially stands still for under-18 litigants, in many torts. But of course that is all speculation, as is virtually everything here, until someone finds the court docket for the criminal matter involved, and the civil one as well.