A June meltdown onboard a Southwest Airlines flight from New York LaGuardia to Kansas City has turned into a lawsuit that targets not only the alleged attacker, but Southwest’s open seating policy itself.
Passenger Sues Southwest, Blames Open Seating For Mid-Flight Assault
The plaintiff, Livia Rombola, filed suit in New York Supreme Court (Kings County) on August 25, 2025, naming Southwest Airlines and passenger Leanna Perry as defendants. The complaint stems from Southwest Flight 779 (LGA–MCI) on June 16, 2025, and alleges negligence by Southwest and intentional torts by Perry. You can read the full complaint (PDF). I covered the original incident and viral video in June here.
- What the complaint says happened onboard
While the aircraft was preparing to depart LaGuardia, the plaintiff says she was “violently assaulted and battered,” including “spitting,” forcing the crew to “employ zip ties” to restrain the assailant. (¶18–19) - Negligence: boarding a visibly impaired passenger
The lawsuit alleges Southwest “failed to timely intervene and deny entry” to a passenger who was “visibly impaired and intoxicated.” (¶23) It also claims violations of FAA safety standards, citing “14 CFR Part 121” and “49 U.S. Code § 46504.” (¶26) - Failure to mitigate and monitor during boarding
The complaint says Southwest had a duty to “prevent confrontational individuals from creating a dangerous in-flight environment” and failed to act before the conflict escalated. (¶33–35) - Vicarious liability
Southwest is alleged to be “vicariously liable” for “the negligent actions and inactions of its employees,” including flight attendants and ground staff. (¶35–36) - Open seating is a central target
The filing attacks Southwest’s “corporate policy of unassigned seating,” where passengers choose seats “on a first-come, first-served basis.” (¶39) It calls open seating a “departure from industry standards” that “created a foreseeable hazard of passenger conflict.” (¶41–42) It further alleges the “lack of proactive seat assignment directly contributed” to the confrontation and was a “proximate and substantial cause” of the harm. (¶43–45) - Alleged injuries and damages
The plaintiff claims “severe emotional distress, public humiliation, reputational harm,” and physical injury, aggravated by viral dissemination of the incident. (¶14–15, ¶57–59) The complaint seeks damages that “exceed the jurisdictional limits” of lower courts and pleads punitive damages. (Prayer for Relief; ¶60) - Claims against the alleged attacker
Separate counts for assault and battery accuse the co-defendant of “violent, threatening and tumultuous behavior” that caused physical and psychological harm. (¶48, ¶54)
As View From The Wing points out, there’s a certain irony that Southwest is being sued for its open seating policy just months before it officially abandons it in favor of assigned seating.
CONCLUSION
This lawsuit squarely puts Southwest’s open seating in the spotlight, arguing it fosters conflict during boarding and contributed to the attack. Whether a court agrees is a separate question (I have my strong doubts, especially when considering the Airline Deregulation Act). It’s an interesting theory, though. For now, the case lays out a detailed narrative: an allegedly intoxicated passenger, a violent outburst and a claim that airline policies, and not just one person’s poor behavior, helped make it happen.
> Read More: Makeup Artist’s Viral Meltdown On Southwest Flight Is Anything But Glamorous
Easiest solution is to stop the open seating , which appears uncivilized and chaotic with primitive passengers .
Next possible solution is to employ “enforcers” with stout canes to herd the primitive passengers into an orderly line .
The aggrieved passenger/victim is completely correct in attempting to hold the hands-off corporation liable for millions . Passengers ought not be required to defend themselves with cattle prods .
You may want to sit down for the news I am about to break to you…
Hate frivolous lawsuits but I do hope Southwest loses here or gives her a big settlement.
Agree … except it does not appear to be frivolous . She was attacked , after all .
I hope the plaintiff wins big too.
Lawsuits with multiple defendants seem to add confusion to what should be sorted out in a clear manner. The spitter committed an assault but doesn’t have the deep pockets of the airline. The airline allowed an intoxicated passenger to board. Two separate issues. I don’t see the open seating as a contributing factor.
My view is that she likely has a very strong case against Southwest if the court finds that Southwest’s agents and FAs knew the customer was intoxicated and boarded them anyway. That’s a violation of federal law so there should be liability there.
I see zero chance she prevails on the unassigned seating portion. That’s been their policy for decades and it’s pretty common in other forms of transportation. Finding Southwest liable on these grounds would open a huge can of worms.