HUTCHESON, Chief Judge.
Alleging willful and wanton ejection from an aeroplane on which he had engaged passage from Tampa to New York, plaintiff prayed damages, actual and exemplary, as itemized in his bill of particulars,1 in the amount of $25,000.00.
His claim in substance was: that, having reserved and paid for his passage and been checked in at the airport for the flight in question, he was later advised that the flight was oversold by three seats and requested to accept cancellation of his reservation and ticket; that he refused to do so because he felt that he was being discriminated against in favor of one Guthrie, a passenger who had purchased a ticket after he had; and that, notwithstanding the discrimination thus evidenced, the defendant wrongfully took his baggage off the plane, and after plaintiff had boarded the plane and taken a seat on it, defendant, with the aid of a deputy sheriff, ejected him from it, and that the act of ejecting him from the plane was discrimination, willful and wanton.
The defenses were: a general denial; and, further, that there was no discrimination, because Guthrie, the person who arrived and was checked in ahead of plaintiff at the airport was the holder of a U.A.L. Script Card, which entitled him to pick his ticket up at the airport, and he had made his reservation on his card betore plaintiff had; that defendant, in causing plaintiff’s removal from the plane, had acted not wantonly and willfully, but in good faith and in accordance with regulations against a flight taking off with an overloaded plane; that as soon as defendant discovered that the plane had arrived overloaded and that to allow plaintiff to board and become a passenger on the plane would have violated the safety regulations, defendant immediately secured and offered to plaintiff alternate air transportation on a plane departing only a short time after the departure of flight 58; that it did not willfully and wrongfully remove plaintiff’s baggage from the plane without plaintiff’s knowledge or consent; and that it did not cause plaintiff to be arrested, imprisoned, or wrongfully evicted from the plane.
Recognizing that it had breached its contract by not providing plaintiff with the passage it had contracted to give him, defendant paid into court the full amount plaintiff had paid for his ticket and for excess baggage.
At a pretrial conference and argument, after the evidence was all in, the facts, none of which were or are in substantial dispute, were thoroughly canvassed, the respective theories of plaintiff and defendant were fully developed, and it was there agreed that, plaintiff having been checked in at the airport and accepted for passage on flight [485]*48558, the defendant, by not carrying him on that flight, had breached its contract and was liable because of the breach for his actual damages.
As to the actual damages, the only difference between plaintiff and defendant was that defendant insisted that these damages were limited to the amount tendered, whereas plaintiff’s position 2 was that they also included hotel accommodation and taxicab costs, as set out in his complaint. The real contention between plaintiff and defendant was, therefore, not over the actual damages for the breach of the contract, but over the claimed exemplary and punitive damages for his ejection from the plane.
It was defendant’s position: that there was no discrimination, both because Guthrie had made his reservation ahead of plaintiff and because he had been checked in and accepted at the airport ahead of him; and, further, that if there was discrimination, defendant would not, it could not, be held liable for exemplary damages but only for breach of contract because the undisputed proof showed that, in cancelling Allsopp’s reservation, whether its action was mistaken or right, it was taken in absolute good faith; and that it could not, therefore, be liable for exemplary or punitive damages for breach of its contract to take Allsopp on the flight, but only for actual damages.
As to the damages claimed for the ejection, its position was that Allsopp had brought this on himself by Insisting on boarding the plane after he had been notified that he would not be carried on that flight, and his baggage had been removed.
Tried to a jury, when the evidence was all in, though there were slight discrepancies in verbiage, there was no substantial conflict in the facts testified to.
On the claim of priority, as between him and Guthrie, stressed by plaintiff and accepted by the trial court, the record presents no> disputed issue of fact.
On account of Guthrie’s inability, because of illness, to attend the trial, defendant, while able to prove that he had made his reservation on his script card3 before he picked his ticket up, was unable to prove the precise time that the reservation was made. Plaintiff had made his reservation and paid for his ticket at the same time, four days before he came to the airport. Guthrie, who had secured his reservation [486]*486on a credit card' and, therefore, - did not have to pick his- ticket-up until he reached the airport, arrived at the ticket counter at the airport ahead of plaintiff. He there, still ahead of plaintiff, had had issued to him, and had picked up, his ticket, and he was then and there checked in and accepted as a passenger ahead of- plaintiff. This was some time before flight 58 came in and defendant had discovered that "the flight onward from Tampa was oversold by three. When the flight arrived, this was discovered, and defendant found that it would be compelled to cancel three of the reservations, the plaintiff’s being one of them. It proceeded to, and did, do so without serious discussion or difficulty with any of the three except plaintiff.
Plaintiff having seen the ticket issued to Guthrie, after he had already bought his, and not aware that Guthrie had already paid for it by purchasing it on his script card, insisted that defendant, by not bumping Guthrie instead of him, was discriminating against him in favor of Guthrie.
Refusing, after many interviews, to accede to- the defendant’s cancellation of his ticket, and having seen his baggage taken off the flight, at the order of the flight captain after the captain had told him and he knew that he would not be carried on it, plaintiff deliberately boarded the plane, anticipating trouble either in being refused entry or in being, put off, with the purpose of getting and remaining on unless and until ejected by force.
The evidence standing thus, plaintiff, insisting that. he -had been ’ discriminated against and that he was entitled to board the plane, urged upon the court that a verdiet should be instructed in his favor, not only for actual, but also, for exemplary and punitive damages, leaving to the jury only the amount of such damages.
Defendant, opposing this view while insisting that plaintiff had not been discriminated against and that, in the situation then existing, it was the duty of the company, acting in good faith, to reduce the overload in the way that it did, put its main reliance, for its claim that a verdict should be directed against plaintiff’s claim for exemplary or punitive damages for the eviction, upon the undisputed fact that plaintiff had brought the eviction about by his own conduct in boarding the plane.
Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI
HUTCHESON, Chief Judge.
Alleging willful and wanton ejection from an aeroplane on which he had engaged passage from Tampa to New York, plaintiff prayed damages, actual and exemplary, as itemized in his bill of particulars,1 in the amount of $25,000.00.
His claim in substance was: that, having reserved and paid for his passage and been checked in at the airport for the flight in question, he was later advised that the flight was oversold by three seats and requested to accept cancellation of his reservation and ticket; that he refused to do so because he felt that he was being discriminated against in favor of one Guthrie, a passenger who had purchased a ticket after he had; and that, notwithstanding the discrimination thus evidenced, the defendant wrongfully took his baggage off the plane, and after plaintiff had boarded the plane and taken a seat on it, defendant, with the aid of a deputy sheriff, ejected him from it, and that the act of ejecting him from the plane was discrimination, willful and wanton.
The defenses were: a general denial; and, further, that there was no discrimination, because Guthrie, the person who arrived and was checked in ahead of plaintiff at the airport was the holder of a U.A.L. Script Card, which entitled him to pick his ticket up at the airport, and he had made his reservation on his card betore plaintiff had; that defendant, in causing plaintiff’s removal from the plane, had acted not wantonly and willfully, but in good faith and in accordance with regulations against a flight taking off with an overloaded plane; that as soon as defendant discovered that the plane had arrived overloaded and that to allow plaintiff to board and become a passenger on the plane would have violated the safety regulations, defendant immediately secured and offered to plaintiff alternate air transportation on a plane departing only a short time after the departure of flight 58; that it did not willfully and wrongfully remove plaintiff’s baggage from the plane without plaintiff’s knowledge or consent; and that it did not cause plaintiff to be arrested, imprisoned, or wrongfully evicted from the plane.
Recognizing that it had breached its contract by not providing plaintiff with the passage it had contracted to give him, defendant paid into court the full amount plaintiff had paid for his ticket and for excess baggage.
At a pretrial conference and argument, after the evidence was all in, the facts, none of which were or are in substantial dispute, were thoroughly canvassed, the respective theories of plaintiff and defendant were fully developed, and it was there agreed that, plaintiff having been checked in at the airport and accepted for passage on flight [485]*48558, the defendant, by not carrying him on that flight, had breached its contract and was liable because of the breach for his actual damages.
As to the actual damages, the only difference between plaintiff and defendant was that defendant insisted that these damages were limited to the amount tendered, whereas plaintiff’s position 2 was that they also included hotel accommodation and taxicab costs, as set out in his complaint. The real contention between plaintiff and defendant was, therefore, not over the actual damages for the breach of the contract, but over the claimed exemplary and punitive damages for his ejection from the plane.
It was defendant’s position: that there was no discrimination, both because Guthrie had made his reservation ahead of plaintiff and because he had been checked in and accepted at the airport ahead of him; and, further, that if there was discrimination, defendant would not, it could not, be held liable for exemplary damages but only for breach of contract because the undisputed proof showed that, in cancelling Allsopp’s reservation, whether its action was mistaken or right, it was taken in absolute good faith; and that it could not, therefore, be liable for exemplary or punitive damages for breach of its contract to take Allsopp on the flight, but only for actual damages.
As to the damages claimed for the ejection, its position was that Allsopp had brought this on himself by Insisting on boarding the plane after he had been notified that he would not be carried on that flight, and his baggage had been removed.
Tried to a jury, when the evidence was all in, though there were slight discrepancies in verbiage, there was no substantial conflict in the facts testified to.
On the claim of priority, as between him and Guthrie, stressed by plaintiff and accepted by the trial court, the record presents no> disputed issue of fact.
On account of Guthrie’s inability, because of illness, to attend the trial, defendant, while able to prove that he had made his reservation on his script card3 before he picked his ticket up, was unable to prove the precise time that the reservation was made. Plaintiff had made his reservation and paid for his ticket at the same time, four days before he came to the airport. Guthrie, who had secured his reservation [486]*486on a credit card' and, therefore, - did not have to pick his- ticket-up until he reached the airport, arrived at the ticket counter at the airport ahead of plaintiff. He there, still ahead of plaintiff, had had issued to him, and had picked up, his ticket, and he was then and there checked in and accepted as a passenger ahead of- plaintiff. This was some time before flight 58 came in and defendant had discovered that "the flight onward from Tampa was oversold by three. When the flight arrived, this was discovered, and defendant found that it would be compelled to cancel three of the reservations, the plaintiff’s being one of them. It proceeded to, and did, do so without serious discussion or difficulty with any of the three except plaintiff.
Plaintiff having seen the ticket issued to Guthrie, after he had already bought his, and not aware that Guthrie had already paid for it by purchasing it on his script card, insisted that defendant, by not bumping Guthrie instead of him, was discriminating against him in favor of Guthrie.
Refusing, after many interviews, to accede to- the defendant’s cancellation of his ticket, and having seen his baggage taken off the flight, at the order of the flight captain after the captain had told him and he knew that he would not be carried on it, plaintiff deliberately boarded the plane, anticipating trouble either in being refused entry or in being, put off, with the purpose of getting and remaining on unless and until ejected by force.
The evidence standing thus, plaintiff, insisting that. he -had been ’ discriminated against and that he was entitled to board the plane, urged upon the court that a verdiet should be instructed in his favor, not only for actual, but also, for exemplary and punitive damages, leaving to the jury only the amount of such damages.
Defendant, opposing this view while insisting that plaintiff had not been discriminated against and that, in the situation then existing, it was the duty of the company, acting in good faith, to reduce the overload in the way that it did, put its main reliance, for its claim that a verdict should be directed against plaintiff’s claim for exemplary or punitive damages for the eviction, upon the undisputed fact that plaintiff had brought the eviction about by his own conduct in boarding the plane.
In the alternative, defendant asked, and excepted to the refusal of, charges, which, because we agree with defendant that a verdict should have been directed for it on the issue of exemplary and punitive damages, we find unnecessary to set out or comment upon.
The district judge, under a clear misapprehension, as evidenced by his statement, “They sold Mr. Guthrie a ticket there that morning, and put him on the plane in preference to Mr. Allsopp”, of the effect and operation of a script card such as Guthrie held, was of the firm opinion that, in cancel-ling Allsopp’s reservation and grounding ■him, while letting Guthrie go on, the defendant was guilty of wrongful discrimination as a matter of law, and he so charged the jury.4
As to plaintiff’s action in boarding the plane, the district judge agreed with defendant that if plaintiff boarded the plane after he knew that his accommodation on that flight had been cancelled and he would [487]*487not be carried on it, the defendant would have been justified in using the means which were used to secure his removal, and, therefore, would not have been liable for any damages for the ejection. He disagreed, however, with its contention that the evidence established that he 'had done-this as a matter of law, and he submitted the issue, as one of fact for the jury, whether he knew that his reservation had been cancelled and he would not be taken on that flight.
There was a verdict for plaintiff for $5000, and defendant has appealed.
Here defendant urges upon us: that the district judge erred in not directing out of the case the claim for exemplary and punitive damages for ejecting plaintiff from the plane; and that the judgment must be reversed with directions to award plaintiff only the actual damages for the breach of contract of carriage.
In the alternative, it insists that the judge committed highly prejudicial error in instructing the jury that, as matter of law, defendant discriminated against the plaintiff, and further erred in not giving the charges defendant had requested.
We are in agreement with appellant: that what the judge submitted to the jury as an issue of fact, whether plaintiff’s reservation had been cancelled with his knowledge that he would not be carried on the flight, was established by the evidence, as matter of law ; 5 that while a verdict should have been directed for him for his actual damages for breach of the contract of carnage, the verdict should have been directed against him on his claim for exemplary and punitive damages; and that the judgment must he reversed and remanded with directions to enter judgment accordingly.
Because we are of this opinion, and this renders unnecessary a decision on any of [488]*488them, we pass without discussing or deciding all the other questions raised, including the ones of priority and of discrimination vel non. ■
Reversed and remanded with directions.