N.Y. Lawyer Sues Delta for $1M, Claims Airline Ruined Dream Trip

A New York lawyer has filed a $1 million suit against Delta Air Lines that claims the carrier ruined a planned dream trip to Argentina for his mother’s 80th birthday.

The suit filed by litigator Richard Roth says he and his family arrived at their destination almost three days late, without their luggage, and had to spend thousands of dollars for food, hotels and a flight on a different airline, the Associated Press reports.

The suit says Roth and his family encountered Delta employees who were "nasty," "rude" and "obnoxious," and that the courteous employees couldn’t help him.

The trouble began when his flight to Atlanta was late, and a Delta employee refused to allow him on a connecting flight, even though the plane was at the gate with the door open, the suit says. A 20-year-old cousin’s daughter was on the flight and arrived in Argentina alone.

Roth told the New York Daily News he spent two days in Atlanta before learning the airline could not get his family to Argentina until Jan. 8, despite his original Dec. 20 departure date.

"This was going to be a dream trip for my mother to go back to her homeland," Roth told the Daily News. "I'm a litigator, and I sue people very easily, but I didn't want to sue. They didn't care when we left, they didn't care when we got there and they didn't care when we got back."