In the case of S* v. Kirby, HPS filed a lawsuit with the Bronx County Civil Court against J. Scott Kirby following an incident in which S* claimed he was wrongfully removed from a United Airlines flight. The trial court, following an inquest, dismissed the claim, and S* later appealed the decision.
On its review, the Appellate Term, First Department, ended up affirming the dismissal, but with a different rationale than the one provided by the court below.
The AT1 clarified that the lawsuit should be dismissed because Kirby, who was named as the sole defendant in his personal capacity, was not the proper party for such a claim. While Kirby is associated with United Airlines in a leadership role, the court emphasized that individuals acting on behalf of a corporation are not personally liable for the company’s actions unless specific personal misconduct is alleged. In this case, no such allegation was made.
Therefore, the appellate court concluded that any legal relief sought by S* should be pursued directly against United Airlines, rather than its executive in an individual capacity.
Ironically, that guy was also bumped right out of court ....
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DECISION