PHILADELPHIA – Citing jurisdictional rationale, the U.S. government is seeking to dismiss a negligence lawsuit from a Delaware woman, who contended that she was injured when going through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Philadelphia International Airport more than two years ago.
Jacqueline Allen-Fillmore of Dover, Del. first filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on April 26, 2022 versus the Transportation Security Administration, Philadelphia International Airport and the City of Philadelphia.
The plaintiff alleged that she was flying out of the Philadelphia International Airport on Jan. 14, 2021, to visit family in North Carolina. She claimed that at the TSA security checkpoint, she removed her shoes and was processed by TSA officers through the luggage and body scans.
The plaintiff alleged that she was only wearing socks when she slipped and fell on a slippery floor, and that the rubber mats in the area were placed in a “haphazard manner.”
She alleged the defendants were negligent for failing to prevent travelers from walking in area where a dangerous condition existed, failing to warn of the hazard, failing to inspect and maintain its premises in a safe condition or to correct the dangerous condition.
The plaintiff further claimed as a result of the fall, she suffered a fractured knee which required surgery and rehabilitation and incurred medical treatment expenses. She also argued the defendants had been on notice of the defective condition of the flooring prior to her fall, and failed to apply a slip-resistant coating in the area.
(An amended version of the complaint filed on June 6, 2022 added the United States of America and John Doe(s) as defendants, while Philadelphia International Airport and TSA were dismissed as defendants from the case on May 19 and June 8, 2022, respectively.)
UPDATE
On March 20, counsel for the United States of America filed a motion to dismiss the case for lack of jurisdiction under the Federal Tort Claims Act, or, in the alternative a motion for summary judgment to dismiss the City of Philadelphia’s cross-claim against it.
“Even if the Court were to consider the merits, there is an absence of any genuine issue of material fact regarding the basic elements of liability. TSA is not the possessor of the area of the Airport where Allen-Fillmore fell. Rather, it is undisputed that the City owns the Airport, including its floors, and, although the City makes space available to TSA so it can conduct its screenings, TSA does not own or lease those areas. Even if TSA could be said to control the screening area while it is conducting screenings, it is undisputed that its control does not extend to replacing or modifying the flooring surface. (And the City is undisputedly responsible for the overnight cleaning and regular buffing and waxing of the floor,” the motion stated, in part.
“Moreover, there is no evidence of the presence of any dangerous condition not obvious to a visitor. Allen-Fillmore acknowledged that there was no foreign substance present on the floor at the time of her fall. She simply contends that the floor is too slippery. But more than 8 million people successfully navigated the Airport floors in 2021 (a year when travel was depressed due to the pandemic). The Airport has common terrazzo floors that any visitor to the airport is familiar with, including Allen-Fillmore, by her own admission. TSA has long announced to the flying public that it will require passengers to remove their shoes to pass through security. Allen-Fillmore herself had been required to take off her shoes on her prior visits to the Airport and expected to do so on this trip, describing it as ‘routine.’ As a matter of law, the Airport’s terrazzo floor is not an unreasonably dangerous condition, even for people with socks, and even if it were, its condition is open and obvious. Furthermore, to the extent Allen-Fillmore seeks to base liability on some perceived shortcoming of TSA’s cleaning contractor, Byrd Enterprises, the United States is not liable for the conduct of its independent contractors under the FTCA.”
For multiple counts of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $75,000, consisting of compensatory, economic and non-economic damages, in addition to other damages permitted by law.
The plaintiff is represented by Andrew Neuwirth of Neuwirth Law Office, in King of Prussia.
The defendants are represented by Jacob Brandon Yzzi and Michele E. Bennett of Bennett Bricklin & Saltzburg, plus Landon Y. Jones of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, all in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:22-cv-01610
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com