Eenie, meenie, minie, moe racial slur lawsuit update

morelaw.com ^ | 1/22/04 | United States District Court for the District of Kansas

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Date: 1/22/04

Case Style: Louise Sawyer and Grace Fuller v. Southwest Airlines and Jennifer Cundiff

Case Number: 2001cv2386

Judge: Kathryn H. Vratil

Court: United States District Court for the District of Kansas

Plaintiff's Attorney: Scott A. Wissel and Elizabeth Drill Nay of Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, Kansas City, Missouir

Defendant's Attorney: Todd W. Amrein, Phoenix, Arizona; John W. Crowden and Aaron C. McKee of Baker, Sterchi, Cowden & Rice, L.L.C., Kansas City, Missouri; Mary C. O'Connell Douthit, Frets, Rouse & Gentile, L.L.C., Kansas City, Missouri

Description: Plaintiffs claimed that in February 2001 they suffered emotional distress and physical injury as a result of Southwest Airline Flight Attendant Jennifer Cundiff say over the intercom in the Las Vegas to Kansas City flight which was preparing to take off "Eeenie, meenie, minie, mo, pick a seat, we gotta go." The plaintiffs, who are African American sisters, took the statement by Cundiff to be racist because they were still attempting to find seats on the crowded aircraft having just boarded as standby passengers.

Southwest Airlines asserted that the use of the rhyme by its employee was not used in a racist manner and was a completely innocent and amusing way for the attendant to urge passengers to take their seats.

Outcome: Defendants' verdict.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: Editor's Note: Judge Vratil sustained Southwest Airlines' motion for summary judgment in part before trial on the Plaintiffs' negligent infliction of emotional distress claims.

[Flightdeck]

It's really kind of funny boarding a Southwest plane. People fight to get at the front of the line, and apparently have a huge stake in getting a seat closest to the front. It like riding a school bus when you were little.

[floriduh voter]

They are good folks. Just try a landing into Reno, Nevada. Even the crew applauds. It's hard to land there because of the mountain range, etc. They made it "fun".

[Kryptonite]

Thank you for the good news and update ping!

Eenie-meenie-miney-mo, dis Jury says your case gotstago.

[Blue Collar Christian]

It's an air bus. Do we need to assign seats on the transit busses across town? Of couse not. We're all adults here at the airport. When we buy cheap tickets, we compromise comfort and seating preferences. If there were open seats, and appearantly there were, these ladies needed to sit their butts down so the plane could move out.

Odds are, they were trying to find two seats that were close enough together to converse on the flight.