Couple sues United for overserving husband!
 

Just found this in the Chicago Tribune this morning, wow...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel...,7796929.story


This is no bar bet, it's a lawsuit. Can you get drunk on a flight, then sue the airline for giving you the booze?

A husband and wife are suing United Airlines for "negligently" overserving alcohol during a flight from Osaka, Japan, to San Francisco, saying the carrier's drinks fueled the domestic violence involving the two shortly after their plane landed.

Fortified with Burgundy wine allegedly supplied at 20-minute intervals by United crew members during the December 2006 trip, Yoichi Shimamoto became so inebriated "that he could not manage himself," according to a lawsuit filed Dec. 5 in U.S. District Court in Tampa.

Shimamoto was arrested, accused of disorderly conduct and battery after he struck his wife, Ayisha, six times, injuring her face and upper lip as they were heading through U.S. Customs in San Francisco, the complaint said.



The lawsuit is highly unusual and will likely hinge on whether Chicago-based United, in effect, operated a flying bar that's subject to the same legal liabilities as earthbound drinking establishments, legal experts said.

...

Lawsuits like this one are the reason why we have those threads complaining about FA's cutting off people's alcohol. :td:

Yep. Expect to start seeing more of those threads...

I do wish the judge would tell this woman the following... excuse me madam but your husband is over 21 and it is his responsiblity to live with the consequences!!! You should be suing YOUR husband and not the airline since they are not his baby sitter!!!

What in the world are these people thinking..... I am not THAT old but my parents taught me when I become 21 I get a heap of privilages but an even bigger heap of responsibilities one of which incl. alcohol. I was allowed to drink but at the same time responsible for the reactions.

Why do courts always rewards those who "forget" the responsiblities part of the deal? If you want to be treated as a child fine - but you give up ALL the other privialges you get as an adult too.

At least United was offered their defense strategy by the plaintiff. :rolleyes:

Good Service At least!
 

What the article failed to point out was how impressive it was that the FAs were actually around enough to provide him with a new glass of wine every 20 minutes. I would love to fly with that crew! ;)

Those certainly were some on-the-ball fa's. SA fa's might get close, but checking on you every 20 minutes, wow!

1. I don't believe this. UA crews would never serve pax that often.

2. These fivolous lawsuits seem to crop up more and more when the economy is in the dumpster. Oh well.

Just another example of someone refusing to take responsiblity for their own actions. Pathetic.

I dunno ... there's a lot of case law that puts some responsibility on bartenders for serving people who are drunk. I think United deserves some of the blame... and I'd bet dollars to donuts that a jury would agree with that. Look for them to settle out of court.

Except that bars are held liable if one of their customers gets drunk and commits a crime (such as DUI or vehicular homicide), so the precedent is already there.

Deep pockets (or so they think).

It's at least a violation of the FARs to serve an obviously drunk passenger. So, assuming the FAs are qualified to make that assessment, they will have to answer to the FAA at least.

I can. The guy was drinking wine. I don't know how many flights I have taken over the years when I patiently waited for a second cocktail, while fellow wine drinkers in the FC cabin kept getting their wine glasses "topped off" by the FA.

This is an international flight, so doesn't the Warsaw Convention preempt the wife's claim against UA, asserting duties under either common law or dramshop statutes?

The point being, anyone can file a lawsuit -- whether it will be successful is another matter.

Talk about a frivolous lawsuit :rolleyes:

I don't see anything frivolous about it. Spilling coffee on yourself is one thing, serving a passenger who's obviously drunk seems serious.