Gill v. JetBlue Airways Corp.

836 F. Supp. 2d 33, 2011 WL 6258518, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143861
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedDecember 14, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 10-11454-FDS
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 836 F. Supp. 2d 33 (Gill v. JetBlue Airways Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gill v. JetBlue Airways Corp., 836 F. Supp. 2d 33, 2011 WL 6258518, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143861 (D. Mass. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS

SAYLOR, District Judge.

This is an action against JetBlue Airways for personal injuries sustained by plaintiff George Gill, an incomplete quadriplegic, while boarding an aircraft. The complaint alleges negligence in the accommodation of Mr. Gill’s disability during aircraft boarding. Jurisdiction is based on diversity of citizenship.

JetBlue has moved for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c). In substance, it contends that plaintiffs’ tort claims are preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (“ADA”) and the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (“ACAA”) and that those federal laws provide no private causes of action in place of the state law claims. For the reasons set forth below, the Court concludes that the training requirements under ACAA regulations preempt the common-law standard of care applicable to plaintiffs’ claims of negligent training. Otherwise, however, the motion will be denied because the claims are not preempted in any other respect.

I. Background

The facts are stated as alleged by the plaintiffs.

Plaintiffs George and Sondra Gill are residents of Quincy, Massachusetts. (Compl. ¶¶ 1-2). Mr. Gill is an incomplete quadriplegic, with some use of his upper extremities but none of his lower extremities. {Id. ¶ 5). As a result, he uses a wheelchair. {Id.).

Defendant JetBlue Airways, a commercial airline, is a Delaware corporation with a principal office in Forest Hills, New York. {Id. ¶ 3).

At some time prior to February 1, 2009, the Gills purchased from JetBlue two round-trip tickets from Boston Logan Airport to Tampa, Florida. {Id. ¶ 4). Then-flights were scheduled to depart for Florida the morning of February 1, 2009, and to return to Massachusetts on February 12, 2009. {Id.).

On the morning of February 1, Mr. Gill was using his ordinary wheelchair at the airport prior to his and his wife’s flight. {Id. ¶¶ 6-7). Upon arrival at the boarding gate, the Gills requested permission to begin boarding early to allow for the extra time Mr. Gill required. {Id. ¶¶ 5-6). Their request was granted, and two Jet-Blue employees helped Mr. Gill down the jetway toward the aircraft. {Id. ¶ 7).

[37]*37In order for Mr. Gill to board the aircraft, it was necessary to transfer him to a narrower “aisle/boarding” wheelchair at the end of the jetway. (Id. ¶ 7). To begin this transfer process, one of the JetBlue employees aligned Mr. Gill’s wheelchair next to the aisle/boarding wheelchair. (Id. ¶ 8). The employee then removed the right armrest of Mr. Gill’s wheelchair. (Id.). On the aisle/boarding wheelchair, the left armrest was set in its “up” position, which would enable Mr. Gill to slide onto it from his wheelchair, and the right armrest was in the

“down” position. (Id.). Mr. Gill was therefore able to slide from his wheelchair onto the aisle/boarding wheelchair from the left side. (Id.).

Once Mr. Gill was on the aisle/boarding wheelchair, however, the JetBlue employees were unable to bring down the left armrest. (Id.). When he offered to adjust his position in the chair to facilitate lowering the armrest, the employees responded that it was unnecessary to bring it down. (Id.). Mr. Gill contends that he insisted that he preferred having the armrest lowered prior to boarding, but was ignored. (Id.). As the employees continued preparing the chair for boarding, Mr. Gill began to slip off the left side of the wheelchair. (Id.). The employees were unable to prevent Mr. Gill from falling off the side of the chair. (Id.). Emergency medical technicians were called, although it does not appear that medical assistance was provided at this point. (Id.). Ultimately, a group of men helped Mr. Gill back onto the aisle/boarding wheelchair and onto the plane. (Id.).

Upon his arrival in Tampa, Mr. Gill was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where x-rays revealed a comminuted fracture of the left femur. (Id. ¶ 9). He was eventually discharged on February 12, 2009. (Id.). Mr. Gill then returned to Boston, where he was admitted to the West Roxbury VA Hospital. (Id. ¶ 10). Two surgeries were eventually performed on Mr. Gill’s leg, each accompanied by a substantial period of inpatient care. (Id. ¶¶ 10-11).

On July 6, 2010, Mr. and Mrs. Gill filed this action against JetBlue in the Massachusetts Superior Court. The complaint alleges negligence on the part of the two JetBlue employees while they assisted Mr. Gill with boarding as well as negligent supervision on the part of JetBlue for failure to properly train its employees. Jet-Blue removed the case to this Court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction. JetBlue has now moved for judgment on the pleadings under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c).

II. Standard of Review

A Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings “is treated much like a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss.” Perez-Acevedo v. Rivero-Cubano, 520 F.3d 26, 29 (1st Cir.2008). It differs from a Rule 12(b)(6) motion primarily because it is filed after the close of pleadings and “implicates the pleadings as a whole.” Aponte-Torres v. University of Puerto Rico, 445 F.3d 50, 54-55 (1st Cir.2006). Because a Rule 12(c) motion “calls for an assessment of the merits of the case at an embryonic stage, the court must view the facts contained in the pleadings in the light most favorable to the nonmovant and draw all reasonable inferences therefrom to the nonmovant’s behoof.” R.G. Financial Corp. v. Vergara—Nunez, 446 F.3d 178, 182 (1st Cir.2006).

However, to survive a defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings, a plaintiff must state a claim that is plausible on its face. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). That is, “[fjactual al[38]*38legations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, ... on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (citations omitted). “The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). The court will therefore grant defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings if plaintiffs’ well-pleaded facts do not “possess enough heft to show that plaintiff is entitled to relief.” Ruiz Rivera v. Pfizer Pharm., LLC,

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Bluebook (online)
836 F. Supp. 2d 33, 2011 WL 6258518, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 143861, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gill-v-jetblue-airways-corp-mad-2011.