BUS TRANSPORT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE EMBARKING OR DISEMBARKING FOR PURPOSES OF MONTREAL CONVENTION LIABILITY
January 24, 2024
On December 13, 2023, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a pro se complaint against American Airlines (“American”) alleging that American violated Articles 17 and 19 of the Montreal Convention when a passenger contracted COVID-19 during a bus ride arranged by American to a nearby hotel. Since the alleged injury did not occur on an airplane, near a departure gate, in an airport terminal, or even between airport terminals, the Court reasoned that the plaintiff’s alleged injury was spatially and temporally removed from any activity that would constitute embarking or disembarking from his flight. As such, the Court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims under Articles 17 and 19 of the Montreal Convention because he failed to show that his injury took place on board the aircraft or while embarking or disembarking.
In addition to finding that the plaintiff did not plausibly allege a claim for liability against American pursuant to the Montreal Convention, the Court also denied the plaintiff’s motion to amend his complaint since several allegations in the amended complaint directly contradicted the initial complaint. For instance, the plaintiff first alleged that he contracted COVID-19 on the bus ride to the hotel but later changed his tune to claim that he contracted the virus on his American flight. Being that this would be the plaintiff’s ninth attempt to plead a claim against American, the Court concluded that the plaintiff had more than enough opportunities and held that the motion to amend was filed in bad faith.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr at 202.659.6622 or esahr@eckertseamans.com; Drew Derco at 202-659-6665 or dderco@eckertseamans.com; Jay Julien at 202.659.6648 or jjulien@eckertseamans.com, or any other attorney at Eckert Seamans with whom you have been working.
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