The Class Action Lawsuit against United Airlines and their practice of bumping people off of flights has been pending before the courts for over a year now. This legal matter was sparked by an incident that happened at LAX a few months ago. A passenger got off the plane and refused to give his identification. An airline steward proceeded to arrest him. He had no valid reason to detain him, as the airline’s employees had given him ample warning several minutes before he boarded the plane.
Class Action Lawsuit Against United Airlines
Although there were several other passengers on the flight who could have cared less about this man, the airline crew failed to see that there was a man in custody and later subjected him to an abusive and degrading work environment. This man later suffered permanent injuries as a result of the attack. The passengers on the other flight, who saw this happen to another passenger, have also filed a charge against United Airlines and are currently waiting for a legal matter to be resolved in court.
The passengers who are involved in this legal suit feel that this is an obvious case of discrimination.
It is very unfortunate that a business that is based upon treating everyone equally can only be lawfully sued if there is a proof that they acted arbitrarily or in bad-faith. The airlines have settled the matter out of court without going to trial, due to the fact that they do not want to take the risk of having a jury decide the case. They are also aware that they may face a large PR battle and are also hoping that a large settlement will keep them from having to go to trial. If a settlement was not reached out of court, there is a strong chance that a trial would have to be held.
Many passengers feel that the airlines did not serve any legal purpose in taking such a harsh approach to dealing with their flight passengers.
If a passenger openly refuses to give his identification, which is a required item when traveling, then he is a potential terrorist. If a passenger attempts to make his way off an airplane, then he is in a defenseless position, because he obviously has no money to buy a ticket to another destination. This is why it is better for the airlines to simply deny him boarding and throw him out, rather than start a legal lawsuit that could take years to resolve.
There are many other passengers who are not involved in a legal suit who are complaining about the treatment they have received from the airlines.
One woman was even dragged off of her flight to the front of the plane, where she remained seated and ignored the screaming children who were hollering at her. Another man was kicked in the stomach, and the airline employees could not allow him to board the plane because he had to pay the extra money for a seat that was available. All of these passenger complaints are being ignored by the airlines, which has caused them extreme financial loss, yet none of the passengers or their families have been awarded any monetary damages.
As you can see, there is a lot of hypocrisy displayed by the airline companies here.
They are going after the legal professionals who know the true story of this situation, while ignoring the real issues. This case should be used as a lesson to all of us, especially those within the legal profession. The airline companies are trying to use legal loopholes to get out of paying passengers and their families the damages they are legally entitled to.
