An angry mother is suing Southwest Airlines after she claims the airline continued to serve alcohol to a drunk man who groped her teenage daughter.
A Horrific Southwest Airlines Groping Lawsuit
In a lawsuit filed in Dallas, the mother claims that Southwest continued to serve alcohol to a man named Anthony Ryan who was “visibly intoxicated and smelled of alcohol when he boarded the plane.”
“Instead of refusing service, Southwest’s flight attendant served beer after beer to the increasingly obnoxious Ryan. Even after telling Ryan that he needed to ’slow down’ the flight attendant continued to supply him with alcohol.”
Wow!
The incident occurred last December on a flight from Las Vegas and San Antonio. The mother was traveling with three children, including a five-year-old, 13-year old, and 15-year-old. Her 13-year-old was sitting a few rows ahead.
The lawsuit claims the man had consumed “at least” seven alcoholic beverages in a Las Vegas airport bar before boarding the flight. Onboard, he was served three more beers and a tequila.
Ryan began flirting with with the 13-year-old girl. The lawsuit clams:
“Each time the flight attendant served Ryan a drink, he became more flirtatious and aggressive. Near the end of the flight, Ryan began fondling the 13-year-old plaintiff’s breasts under her blanket and reached his hand between her legs.”
Ryan was moved to the back of a plane when the mother of another 13-year-old complained when the man began running his hand through her hair.
The lawsuit claims the girl was too “afraid and embarrassed” to report the man.
Southwest Airlines, as expected, will not comment, citing the pending litigation.
CONCLUSION
What a horrible story.
The incident occurred before (and was probably a catalyst for) Southwest Airlines changed its in-flight announcement urging passengers to report any “unwanted behavior.”
I expect a very big settlement here. Rightfully so.
image: Southwest Airlines
Matthew, any idea if airlines self-insure for things like this? I recall Carnival Cruise Lines saying that they do self-insurance since it saves money due to economies of scale.
What a terrible mom who did nothing to stop this man’s behavior against her daughter. Also, a little strange that she knew how many drinks he had at the airport bar. She had time to count his seven drinks there, was seated next to him in the airplane, and sat by while this unfolded. Very odd. Still, this guy should go to jail for groping a girl.
Regarding whether SWA is liable, whether someone is intoxicated is clearly a matter of judgement. The FA would have no way of knowing that the man had been drinking heavily before the flight. It’s all about how good of a drunk he is.
Agreed with your first paragraph.
@Andy K: Well said. I really liked your comment.
It was very strange that the mother knew how many alcoholic beverages this man had consumed in an airport bar before.
I am not an attorney, but is there a correlation between drinking and gropping, e.g. consuming alcohol will lead to gropping? lf not, then why Southwest has to settle the lawsuit in this case?
I didn’t like his comment. The mother did not know how many drinks he had consumed. Rather, it seems far more likely that her legal counsel did their due diligence, perhaps by reviewing CCTV footage or credit card records.
I strongly disagree with the idea that the mother bears any responsibly here. Is it too much to ask that a seatmate does not grope a 13-year-old? Disgusting.
You’re a parent yourself. Wouldn’t you have done something to protect your child at the time when the alleged behaviour was happening?
The point is she didn’t know it was happening because the 13-year-old was too petrified to speak up.
But then how did the FAs know if it was or wasn’t happening? Did they see it happening and then ignore what they saw?
Then how was the airline to know anything was happening? You “rightfully” want them to settle for something they did not know occurred.
If the FA continued to serve a drunk man, Southwest is in trouble. The lawsuit claims the FA told the man to “slow down” yet continued to serve him. Three beers and a tequila on a 2.5 hours flight BEFORE the incident occurred halfway through it. Are you kidding me?
What was she supposed to do, on a plane, with two other children, and a drunk criminal assaulting her daughter???
Classic victim blaming.
I want to know why we are not hearing about criminal charges, and just civil damages.
Legal counsel has the ability to request and review CCTV footage and credit card records? Since when did they get that power?
I never said they had direct authority. But saying “pretty please” opens a lot of doors.
What a complete shocker. I had no idea Joe Biden flew Southwest.
Considering Trumps the self confessed molester, you see to be deflecting.
Petulant and stupid. If you’re going to take cheap shots, make them accurate ones.
Her comment was witty and smart. And much more accurate than you get on the evening news. You’re just too much of a mindless follower of the minority party.
Her comment was not witty smart or accurate. Your party lost the popular vote so whose is the minority party? I can’t wait to flush the turd on November 3rd.
Indian again?