LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A San Diego man dropped his lawsuit against American Airlines Inc. in which he alleged he was wrongfully barred from future flights with the company after a 2019 interaction with a flight attendant concerning the adjustment of his seat.
An attorney for plaintiff David Klein filed court papers on Tuesday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jill Feeney asking that Klein's negligence suit be dismissed "with prejudice," meaning it cannot be refiled. Klein had sought compensatory damages as well as a court order allowing him to fly on AA again.
The court papers do not state if a settlement was reached or if Klein was not pursuing the case for other reasons.
In their court papers, airline lawyers stated that Klein failed to use reasonable care for his safety and well being and that he "voluntarily and knowingly assumed the risk of injury."
The AA attorneys further maintained Klein should "take nothing by way of his complaint."
Klein and his wife boarded an AA flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles on March 29, 2019. Shortly after they were seated, a flight attendant approached and told Klein to put his seat in an upright position, the suit stated. Moments later, before Klein had adjusted his seat, the flight attendant passed by the plaintiff once again, leaned over him and began to press the seat adjustment buttons under his arm rest, the suit stated.
"Surprised at having a stranger make physical contact with him, plaintiff moved the flight attendant's arm away and told her that he would adjust his seat himself, which he immediately did," the suit filed last Nov. 21 stated.
The flight attendant left and there were no further interactions between her and Klein, according to the suit. Another flight attendant who had witnessed the incident apologized to Klein for his colleague's behavior, stating that she was "having a bad day," the suit stated.
Klein says he considered the matter closed and forgot about the incident.
However, in February 2022, Klein made reservations for himself and his wife to fly on AA from Los Angeles to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten the next month for a friend's 60th birthday celebration, the suit stated. Upon arriving at Los Angeles International Airport after a ride from their San Diego home, Klein and his spouse began checking their bags and found "to their surprise and horror" that Klein was not permitted to fly on American Airlines, according to the suit.
Although AA allegedly refused to explain why he is banned from flying with them, Klein believes that the flight attendant involved in the incident involving his seat adjustment in 2019 "solely out of spite filed a report with the airline that falsely accused plaintiff of refusing to follow safety instructions."
The ban of Klein from future AA flights prevented him from flying to some places with his family members, forcing him to incur higher costs and a loss of time by having to take flights on other airlines, according to the suit.
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