U.S. Airways seeks transfer of injury suit to federal court

An attorney for U.S. Airways has petitioned a federal judge to take up a

personal injury case that was initiated in state court by a woman who says she sustained severe knee and other injuries after tripping over a misplaced floor mat at Philadelphia International Airport.

Lawyer Joseph R. Fowler, of the firm Fowler Hirtzel McNulty & Spaulding LLP, filed a removal notice at U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on Feb. 25 seeking to transfer a suit originally brought at Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas to the federal venue.

The complaint alleges that plaintiff Janette Anderson injured herself on Feb. 1, 2012, at about 3:30 in the afternoon while walking in the check-in area at Philadelphia International Airport.

Anderson says she fell to the ground after coming into contact with a mat that had been “crumpled on the side.”

As a result of the incident, the woman claims to have sustained injuries to her left leg and both of her knees.

Some of the injuries required Anderson to undergo surgery, the record shows.

The plaintiff says she experienced pain, discomfort and limitation of motion, all of which may be of a permanent nature.

The airport and the City of Philadelphia are also named as defendants in the litigation, which was filed by Philadelphia attorney James M. Turner, Jr. of Furia and Turner LLC.

In his removal notice, Fowler, the defense lawyer, wrote that the matter qualifies for removal under federal diversity jurisdiction because the parties are citizens of different states.

He also wrote that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, another qualifier for removal to U.S. District Court.

Fowler noted that attorneys for the city, who are also representing Philadelphia International Airport, have also consented to the case’s removal out of Common Pleas Court.

The lawsuit, which also names Anderson’s husband, John, as a codefendant, faults U.S. Airways for failing to maintain the flooring on the premises in a reasonably safe condition and other acts of negligence.

 

The state case ID number is 140102371 and the federal case number is 2:14-cv-01127-BMS.