Couple Claims Airline is Liable for Beating by Drunken Husband
A lawsuit against United Airlines seeks to apply dram shop laws to air carriers that serve too much liquor during flights.
The suit claims United served too much wine to Yoichi Shimamoto on a flight from Japan to San Francisco, causing him to beat his wife and get arrested for disorderly conduct and battery, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The suit, filed Dec. 5 in Tampa federal court by the married couple, seeks defense and other costs associated with the criminal case against Shimamoto, who was sentenced to probation. It also seeks damages for pain and suffering and loss of income, according to the Tribune account. United claims the suit is without merit.
State dram shop laws hold liquor establishments liable for injuries caused by drunk patrons. But U.S. laws don’t apply to a flight over the Pacific Ocean, DePaul law professor Bruce Ottley told the Tribune.
The Warsaw Convention may govern United’s conduct, he said, and a protocol limits liability to damages that took place on the aircraft, or as passengers were boarding or disembarking, he said.
Northwestern law professor James Speta agreed that a tort action may not fly, and said the couple faces a second hurdle. “The idea that the server should have stopped serving is often accepted when the injury is to a third person, such as in a drunk-driving situation,” he told the Tribune. “Generally, the courts have not been receptive to people saying, ‘I asked for the drink and you gave it to me.’ “
