Delta sued again....

[Sinca3]

This is why I hate lawyers!

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/0405/19deltasuit.html

 

[Vladimir Lenin]

can you copy and paste

 

[CA1900]

http://www.bugmenot.com/

For example, for ajc, use this:
First name: Nowhere
email: [email protected]
pass: nowhere

 

[Sinca3]

Delta liable for drunken driver?

By BILL RANKIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/19/05
A drunken driving victim asked the state Supreme Court on Monday to make Georgia the first state to allow airlines to be sued for serving alcohol to intoxicated passengers who get into accidents on the drive home.

The case was brought by Jack Townsend, who was driving home in north Fulton County in 2001 when a drunken driver crossed the center line, causing a head-on collision. After Townsend, who was severely injured, learned the driver drank wine on a Delta Air Lines flight home from Milwaukee, he sued the Atlanta-based carrier.

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"It's easy for Delta to say, 'We didn't have anything to do with it. All we did was get the man drunk. We weren't driving that car,' " Townsend's lawyer, Irwin Stolz, told the justices during Monday's argument. "But we think Delta is also responsible."

The appeal asks the high court to allow lawsuits against airlines under the Georgia Dram Shop Act, which has been used primarily by victims who have been injured or killed by drunken patrons driving away from restaurants and bars. But the law says anyone who serves alcohol to a noticeably intoxicated person while knowing that person will soon be driving may be held liable for an accident.

Delta's lawyer, Richard North Jr., told the Supreme Court that state legislators intended the law to be used only in lawsuits against "land-based" tavern owners. "The Legislature never intended such a sweeping application," North told the justices.

In a court filing supporting Delta, the industry's trade group, the Air Transport Association of America, said applying the law to airlines "imposes a much more complex and unanticipated burden of compliance of interstate air carriers than on businesses that sell or serve alcohol on the ground."

North and Stolz said they knew of no other state that allowed such lawsuits against an airline.

Airlines are unlikely to change their policies about serving alcohol anytime soon, said Roger King, an airline industry analyst with CreditSights, a securities research firm in New York. King said he wasn't aware of similar lawsuits against other airlines.

The state Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling by the end of the year. The high court is considering a September decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals, which found that airlines may be sued under the law.

Townsend was a 25-year-old college graduate who was in the process of getting certified as a schoolteacher at the time of the March 29, 2001, accident. He was driving home in his Ford Focus at 10:30 p.m. on State Bridge Road when a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo crossed the center line at a curve.

Townsend suffered severe head and orthopedic injuries and has run up more than $1 million in medical bills, Stolz said. He is no longer able to drive, lives with his parents, and has short-term memory loss. The only job he is able to hold is serving soft drinks at a Chick-fil-A restaurant, Stolz said.

Townsend sued Delta and the driver, James Serio, a youth pastor and computer software salesman. Two years ago, Serio, 50, pleaded guilty to DUI, driving on the wrong side of the road and causing serious injuries with his motor vehicle. At the urging of Townsend's family, Serio was sentenced to probation and ordered to undergo alcohol treatment and perform 100 hours of community service.

Through his lawyer, Richard Eason, Serio declined comment.

When he pleaded guilty, Serio said he fell asleep three miles from home after driving more than 40 miles from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Serio said he did not drink alcohol before or after his 90-minute return flight from Milwaukee. The lawsuit contends Serio drank six to eight glasses of wine after being upgraded to first class because of his frequent flier miles.

During oral argument Monday, Delta's lawyer, North, sought to convince the Supreme Court that the airline was not seeking immunity. The Federal Aviation Administration already penalizes and fines airlines for allowing intoxicated passengers to board a plane and for serving too much alcohol to patrons once they're seated.

The speed of jet airplanes and the interstate nature of airline travel also will make it virtually impossible to determine exactly where an airline serves a drink to a passenger, North said. If Serio really did drink six or eight glasses of wine, the drinks might have been served over six or eight different states.

North added that airlines would be hard-pressed to know which passengers would be driving home from the airport. Many take taxis and limousines or are picked up by friends or relatives. More than 13,000 people a day ride MARTA to and from the airport, he said.

"There is no way . . . for the flight attendants, much less the airline itself, to monitor passengers to see if they'll be driving," North said.

Stolz countered that there was a high probability Serio was driving home because he had purchased a round-trip ticket in Atlanta. "We have a tragic situation where Delta allowed or contributed to" Serio's getting drunk on the flight home, the lawyer said. "Then they turned him loose on the public, letting him get home as best he could."

— Staff writer Russell Grantham contributed to this article.

 

[labbats]

Just tell him Delta is bankrupt, he'll move on.

What ever happened to taking accountability for your own actions? Sue the guy driving, quit chasing anyone you think might pay off.

 

[Oakum_Boy]

Just tell him Delta is bankrupt, he'll move on.

What ever happened to taking accountability for your own actions? Sue the guy driving, quit chasing anyone you think might pay off.

Cause the dude's a scum eating piece of human debris. That's why. Don't you know- It only costs about 50 bucks to fly these days. Just take a look at the next round of losers you are transporting around, then wonder why your pay sucks.

 

[Dizel8]

"At the urging of Townsend's family, Serio was sentenced to probation and ordered to undergo alcohol treatment and perform 100 hours of community service."

How come they did not go after him, after all, he is the real culprit, instead they are chasing the Delta dough?

 

[Juvat]

Cause the dude's a scum eating piece of human debris. That's why. Don't you know- It only costs about 50 bucks to fly these days. Just take a look at the next round of losers you are transporting around, then wonder why your pay sucks.

Wow. This is exactly the attitude that prevails at an airline just before it goes out of business. Seeing paying passengers as "the enemy" rather than "your paycheck" is a big mistake. Remember, she may look like a shaved dog's a$$, but her dollars are just as green as everyone else's.

BTW, we fly lots of people for even *less* than 50 bucks, and my pay doesn't suck. At what point did you fall off the logic wagon?

 

[CapnVegetto]

Well, has anyone been on a flight lately? You can be sitting next to some toothless bearded guy that smells like the BO of a wet dog. When tickets are cheap, that's what happens. Greyhound airlines.

But maybe he was talking about the lawyer. The ONLY person responsible was the stupid a$$hole that was drunk. Delta didn't force liquor down the guy's throat. F-ing lawyers see dollar signs and will sue for anything. It's truly pathetic.

 

[Dizel8]

Actually, no dumbass to push, no lawyer to sue. If the people were not suing, the lawyer would not have a job.

 

[General Lee]

Wow. This is exactly the attitude that prevails at an airline just before it goes out of business. Seeing paying passengers as "the enemy" rather than "your paycheck" is a big mistake. Remember, she may look like a shaved dog's a$$, but her dollars are just as green as everyone else's.

BTW, we fly lots of people for even *less* than 50 bucks, and my pay doesn't suck. At what point did you fall off the logic wagon?

Yeah, we all feel that way and it shows....Yeah ok.....You are an idiot.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[RJones]

Yeah, we all feel that way and it shows....Yeah ok.....You are an idiot.


Bye Bye--General Lee

Humm, who's the idiot?

Bye Bye--RJ

 

[General Lee]

Humm, who's the idiot?

Bye Bye--RJ

What? Great comeback. Genius. That Oakum boy doesn't speak for all of the Delta employees, and yet Juvat thinks we all don't care. Oakum doesn't even fly for mainline. Juvat likes to make outlandish statements that are not true---hence an idiot. Great comback RJ----you are a genius. I can't wait for your next comment....


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[s3jetman]

I was in an accident in 2002. Not my fault and I was just a passenger. Fine now but the fk FAA pulled my medical for 5 years. I was just getting into the industry when I found out just how crappy it is to deal with the FAA. What I got was my helicopter ride paid for and now I have $30,000 mult-com that can only be used as toilet paper.

I think I am going to sue the FAA because its there fault that they did not come to Florida to move a tree in the interstection, nor did they test to see if the car I was in had side impact airbags to prevent injury. I think I will sue them for 1 billion dollars.

Give me a break. Hot coffe on lab gets you over million, drink to much and drive home gets you god knows how much. Ride in a car with a poor friend lose medical for 5 years get $0

 

[kevdog]

I was in an accident in 2002. Not my fault and I was just a passenger. Fine now but the fk FAA pulled my medical for 5 years. I was just getting into the industry when I found out just how crappy it is to deal with the FAA. What I got was my helicopter ride paid for and now I have $30,000 mult-com that can only be used as toilet paper.

I think I am going to sue the FAA because its there fault that they did not come to Florida to move a tree in the interstection, nor did they test to see if the car I was in had side impact airbags to prevent injury. I think I will sue them for 1 billion dollars.

Give me a break. Hot coffe on lab gets you over million, drink to much and drive home gets you god knows how much. Ride in a car with a poor friend lose medical for 5 years get $0

s3jetman, please explain your story. i am curious to hear it.

btw, where i am from, the bartender or the person serving you is also responsible if you get into an accident and you are drunk. it is their responsibility not to serve drunk people.

 

[General Lee]

s3jetman, please explain your story. i am curious to hear it.

btw, where i am from, the bartender or the person serving you is also responsible if you get into an accident and you are drunk. it is their responsibility not to serve drunk people.

How do you know the person you are serving hasn't had 3 whiskies in the airport bar before he/she got on your aircraft? Maybe it isn't easy to see if the person is drunk? Maybe he/she is asleep afterwards, and how is the stew supposed to know whether that is from the alcohol or just a busy work day full of meetings?


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[s3jetman]

s3jetman, please explain your story. i am curious to hear it.

btw, where i am from, the bartender or the person serving you is also responsible if you get into an accident and you are drunk. it is their responsibility not to serve drunk people.

__________________
Sorry I dont post enough to know how to do teh "quote" thing.

Sufferd head injury I was in a Comma for 7 days. Now everthing is okay do more than average person, never been to a doctor sice 2002 other than to try to get my medical back. All test pretty much clean, except I cant spell, Brain MRI, Sleep deprived awake EEG, Neuro test, Cog test, Psy tst all good just some a hole in DC doesnt want to lose his pension so he wont sighn on the line. I can outperforme 95% of the pilots that I train and work with gradute with 3.8 gpa from embry riddle and still cant get help

O and I have tried

AME- no help
AOPA - no help
Navy Flight Surgen - no help
2 Aviation lawyers - no hlep
Senator Bob Dole (KS), and Jerry Moran (KS) - no help
Letters from every level of personell at my current airline - no help

any other suggestions please give them to me.

So that is basically it. I have made other post about my medical if you would like to konw more or PM me

 

[densoo]

In a court filing supporting Delta, the industry's trade group, the Air Transport Association of America, said applying the law to airlines "imposes a much more complex and unanticipated burden of compliance of interstate air carriers than on businesses that sell or serve alcohol on the ground."

What's complex about no alcohol an airplanes anymore--period?

Airlines are unlikely to change their policies about serving alcohol anytime soon...

But, by golly, if this guys wins this lawsuit, their policy will change overnight. There's nothing that makes a corp run scared than punitive damages.

 

[General Lee]

What's complex about no alcohol an airplanes anymore--period?

But, by golly, if this guys wins this lawsuit, their policy will change overnight. There's nothing that makes a corp run scared than punitive damages.

No, there will then be a limit like two per passenger, and a drink will cost $10 each, instead of $5.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[kevdog]

How do you know the person you are serving hasn't had 3 whiskies in the airport bar before he/she got on your aircraft? Maybe it isn't easy to see if the person is drunk? Maybe he/she is asleep afterwards, and how is the stew supposed to know whether that is from the alcohol or just a busy work day full of meetings?


Bye Bye--General Lee

General, I agree with you, I was just stating that some states can legally hold the server responsible. I seriously doubt a FA is going to keep serving a belligerent drunk on an airplane. I am curious to see what happens and if this gets far through the courts.