[quoteurl=http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/news/stories/20020801/topstories/341688.html]Ashland attorney sues over 'jet jam'
He says obese man spilled into his seat
By Mark Caudill
News Journal
ASHLAND -- A pretrial hearing is scheduled in an Ashland attorney's civil lawsuit against an airline that sold him a seat next to an obese man.
Philip Shafer will meet representatives from Delta Air Lines Inc. in Ashland Municipal Court at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 19. Shafer seeks $9,500 from Delta.
The suit stems from a two-hour November flight from New Orleans to Cincinnati. Shafer claims Delta breached its contract to provide him with a full seat and reasonable comfort because the obese man crowded onto his seat.
"He was a huge man," Shafer said. "He had obviously got there before I got there. He had to remove the middle armrest. Without doing that, he could not have sat down at all."
Shafer said the man took up part of his seat.
"He and I are literally and figuratively married from the right kneecap to the shoulder for two hours," Shafer said. "That's not what I paid for."
In his lawsuit, Shafer said he "suffered embarrassment, severe discomfort, mental anguish and severe emotional distress."
James Tyminski, a Cleveland attorney representing Delta, isn't buying it.
"You see things like this ... it just reminds you of where our society is going," Tyminski said. "We've become too litigious. We have problems in society that are much deeper than that.
"This is trivial."
Tyminski said he was speaking on his own behalf, not Delta's.
Shafer said there were two seats in the row and he did not want to cause a disturbance on a plane so soon after Sept. 11. He said there were only three empty seats on the flight. They were taken before he could move.
Shafer said he does not have anything against heavy people. He said at least one airline has addressed the situation by requiring overweight people to buy two seats.
When the flight was over, Shafer said he wrote to Delta, which told him there was nothing it could do. He then filed the lawsuit. Shafer said he would be open to a settlement.
"I'm just looking to get Delta's attention," he said.
Tyminski said Delta is prepared to go to trial.
"It's my client's position we're going to vigorously defend this lawsuit," he said. [/quoteurl]
