A Boston Jury Awards AA Passenger $400,000

A federal jury has ordered American Airlines to pay $400,000 to a computer consultant who was pulled from a flight at Logan International Airport because of security concerns, then denied reboarding even after he had been cleared by State Police.

"I felt like I was being treated like a terrorist and there was no way I could prove I didn't do anything or say anything at all," said John Cerqueira, 39, who grew up in Fall River and now lives in Miami. "I'm grateful to the jury for sending the message to American Airlines that just the use of the word security isn't an excuse for unlawful behavior."

Cerqueira, who was born in Portugal and is a US citizen, was returning to Florida after spending Christmas with his family when he boarded a nonstop flight to Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 28, 2003. But before takeoff, Cerqueira said, the flight crew called police because of concerns about two Middle Eastern passengers who were seated beside him.

Cerqueira said he didn't know the men, who were Israelis, but believes he was taken into custody with the men because he looked like them.

After State Police interrogated him for two hours, Cerqueira, a Stanford University graduate with a degree in international relations, said a trooper told him, "You're just the poor chap who got seated next to these two other guys."

Police determined that none of the men was a threat after questioning them, evacuating the plane, and rescreening all baggage. Yet, Cerqueira said that American Airlines refused to let him reboard that plane, or catch another flight, even though State Police assured the airline that he wasn't a threat.

"You would have thought they would have apologized profusely and bumped him up to first class and made sure he got home that day, but they didn't," said Boston attorney David S. Godkin, a civil rights advocate who represents Cerqueira.

After a six-day trial in US District Court in Boston, jurors on Friday found that American Airlines discriminated against Cerqueira because of race or national origin, and ordered it to pay him $130,000 in compensatory damages and $270,000 in punitive damages.

A spokesman for American Airlines, Tim Wagner, said the company would not discuss the case, but released a statement saying, "While we respect the jury system, we disagree with this verdict. This decision is simply not supported by the facts or the law. We will evaluate our legal options."

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.