PITTSBURGH – A federal judge has denied a trio of motions for summary judgment from the parent companies of TGI Friday’s and Delta Airlines, named in litigation brought by a sky marshal who was allegedly sexually assaulted by an intoxicated passenger on her flight from Pittsburgh to Atlanta in 2018.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania Judge William S. Stickman IV ruled on Nov. 3 that summary judgment motions from Host International, Inc., HMSHost Corporation and Delta Airlines would be denied, in a lawsuit brought by J.D. and R.D. against those defendants and Benjamin Price.
“On May 20, 2018, J.D., a law enforcement officer, arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport to board Delta Air Lines Flight 1860 from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Defendant Price was also a passenger on the flight and was seated in seat 13A next to J.D., who was in seat 13B,” Stickman said.
“Prior to boarding the Flight, Price visited the TGI Fridays located in the Pittsburgh International Airport, which was owned and operated by Host and HMSHost. A service ticket was opened for Price at 1:11 p.m. and over the course of approximately two hours, he ordered two 20-ounce Stella Artois beers and three two-ounce shots of 80 proof Crown Royal whiskey.”
According to Stickman, Price said during his deposition that “upon leaving TGI Fridays, the bartender who was waiting on him gave him an additional smaller Styrofoam to-go cup that was filled up with Crown Royal whiskey” – at which point, Price “drank some of the whiskey on the way to board his flight and then finished the remainder of it while he was in his seat on the plane.”
“Price was the last person to board the Flight. J.D. noticed that when Price was boarding the aircraft he was ‘unstable as soon as he got onto the plane’ and was staggering and grabbing a hold of other passengers' seats to prevent himself from falling over. J.D. noticed that Price had a strong odor of alcohol about him, his eyes were red and glassy, and he was having issues trying to get his seatbelt buckled,” Stickman said.
“The Flight left the gate at 3:39 p.m. Price then ‘passed out’ after getting situated. Price was not served any alcoholic beverages during the flight. Approximately 10 minutes prior to descent, J.D. was engaged in conversation with the passenger in seat 13C. Price woke up and cupped J.D.’s vagina. He then placed his hand on the inside of J.D.’s thigh and rubbed down her thigh. J.D. took hold of Price’s wrist for the entirety of the remainder of the flight, which landed in Atlanta at 5:22 p.m. She requested assistance in arresting Price from Delta employees and the Atlanta Police Department, and she held him on the plane until the other passengers disembarked. Price exited the flight and was placed under arrest for public drunkenness.”
When J.D. filed a lawsuit alleging violations of Pennsylvania’s Dram Shop Act, a law which establishes the liability of businesses who sell alcohol to visibly-intoxicated persons or minors, who then go on to cause death or injury to third parties, the parent company of TGI Friday’s and Delta Airlines filed motions for summary judgment.
The companies’ stance was that they did not know or observe that Price was visibly intoxicated, before he boarded the flight, when he boarded the flight or during the flight itself.
However, Stickman offered that Price admitted in his deposition that not only was he drunk, but that it was probably the most intoxicated he had ever been in his life, and other individuals ranging from Atlanta law enforcement officers who arrested Price and airport personnel there testifying that he was heavily intoxicated.
“J.D. has offered no direct evidence that Price was served alcohol at TGI Fridays while he was visibly intoxicated. However, the Court finds that J.D. has produced sufficient circumstantial evidence, including Price’s own testimony, which creates a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Price was visibly intoxicated while being served alcoholic beverages at TGI Fridays. Price’s receipt from TGI Fridays provided quantitative proof of heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages,” Stickman said.
“Additionally, J.D. testified that Price appeared intoxicated as he boarded the Flight, which occurred shortly after he left TGI Fridays. Price’s last drink consumed prior to the incident with J.D. was provided by TGI Fridays. Furthermore, multiple people testified as to Price’s intoxication after the incident occurred. Thus, a jury must determine whether Price was visibly intoxicated while being served alcoholic beverages at TGI Fridays. The Court will deny Host and HMSHost’s motion for summary judgment.”
As for Delta Airlines’ summary judgment motion, Stickman stated it is “well-established in Pennsylvania that common carriers, such as Delta, owe the ‘highest degree of care’ to their passengers” and “owed J.D. the highest degree of care that was reasonably practicable.”
“Part of the care Delta owed to J.D. was to protect her safety while she was on the flight from the reasonably foreseeable assaults of other passengers. Whether Delta breached its duty owed to J.D. is less clear when the facts are taken in the light most favorable to J.D. as the non-moving party. As previously noted above, there are genuine disputes of material fact as to whether Price appeared intoxicated when boarding the flight. Furthermore, another question exists as to whether Price’s assault on J.D. was reasonably foreseeable. Therefore, the Court will deny Delta’s motion for summary judgment,” Stickman said.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case 2:20-cv-00749
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com