NC Woman's $55 Million Vomit-on-the-Plane Lawsuit Against Frontier Advances

July 14, 2020

A federal lawsuit seeking $55 million from Frontier Airlines for allegedly forcing a woman and her daughter off a plane for complaining about vomit on a seat will proceed despite the company’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Frontier officials asked Rosetta Swinney and her 14-year-old daughter to clean up vomit that wasn’t theirs, kicked them off the plane when they refused, and had Swinney arrested for trespassing according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina in August. Swinney’s child also was taken to a Nevada Child Protective Services holding facility in Las Vegas for 12 hours, the lawsuit states.

After the April 19, 2019, incident, Frontier defamed Swinney’s character by “disseminating lies” about her and her daughter’s removal, the lawsuit states.

The family was also subjected to a “well-being visit” by N.C. Child Protective Services when they returned to their northern Durham home, the lawsuit states, The News & Observer reported.

In December, Frontier Airlines filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that it failed to present sufficient facts that a law was violated or that Swinney and her daughter are entitled to judicial remedy. Such motions are a common initial response to civil lawsuits.

U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs granted Frontier’s motion in part.

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Biggs allowed slander, libel and negligence claims to move forward.

She dismissed claims for abuse of process, gross negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and defamation.

One of Swinney’s attorneys, Sharika Robinson, who is based in Charlotte, described the judge’s ruling as good news.

“The major claim survived,” Robinson said about the negligence claim.

Las Vegas to RDU

Swinney and her daughter were flying from Las Vegas back to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport when they found vomit on one of the seatback trays, inside the seat pocket and on the ground, the lawsuit states.

Swinney summoned the flight attendant, who returned with Clorox wipes and rubber gloves.

Swinney asked her daughter to move to the aisle so that the attendant could clean the seat, but the female attendant told Swinney “it was not her job,” the lawsuit states.

Another passenger asked the flight attendant whose job it was, and she “shrugged her shoulders” and walked to the front of the plane, the lawsuit states.

After waiting 10 minutes, Swinney walked to the front of the plane and asked for someone to address the vomit issues. Swinney also asked the flight attendant for her name and asked to speak to her supervisor, the lawsuit states.

The flight attended responded not to worry about her name, the lawsuit states, because Swinney wouldn’t be on the flight “no matter what.”

Swinney decided to move to two empty seats, when a Frontier employee directed her off the plane. Swinney refused. Frontier officials called law enforcement, who eventually cleared the plane of all passengers.

The passengers were told “because of one rude passenger we are asking everyone to deplane,” the lawsuit states.

When Swinney did leave the plane, she was arrested for trespassing in the gate area.

A friend offered to take Swinney’s daughter, but officials refused, Swinney’s attorneys said.

Swinney’s daughter was placed in Nevada’s Child Protective Custody for 12 hours, the lawsuit states.

A few days later Frontier released a statement indicating that Swinney and her daughter were told they would be given new seats, but Swinney didn’t like the result and became “disruptive.”

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©2020 The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.)

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