Posted on 08/28/2012 10:00:45 AM PDT by scottjewell
HOUSTON (CN) - A gay couple claims in court that Continental Airlines workers humiliated them by taking a dildo from their baggage and taping it outside the bag for everyone in baggage claim to see.
Christopher Bridgeman and Martin Borger sued United Continental Holdings and Continental Airlines in Harris County Court.
The men say they arrived in Houston from Costa Rica, retrieved their undisturbed checked luggage and after going through Customs rechecked their bags for a flight to Norfolk, Va.
"Upon arriving in Norfolk, plaintiffs exited the aircraft and went to the baggage claim area," the complaint states. "Plaintiffs' bags were sent to the baggage carousel where plaintiffs discovered, to their horror, that a private sex toy had been removed from one of their bags, covered in a greasy foul-smelling substance and taped prominently to the top of their bag.
"Plaintiffs experienced extreme shock and horror when they observed the above-described bag and when observing the surprised and/or laughing faces of numerous onlookers in the baggage claim area.
"Plaintiffs were experiencing such a high degree of shock and embarrassment that they felt compelled to call two friends to come to the airport to assist them.
"Fortunately, the friends arrived and were able to assist plaintiffs out of the airport and to their home, but by that time the damage had already been done, and plaintiffs had suffered severe emotional trauma."
The men claim the baggage handlers probably pulled the prank "because of the fact that the sex toy was contained in the bag of a male, and because the employee(s) responsible knew that the bag belonged to a male due to the name tag attached to the bag and the male clothing contained in the bag."
They seek punitive damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and negligence.
They are represented Harry Scarborough.
United and Continental Airlines merged in May 2010 to form one of the world's largest airlines.
i didnt’ know suitcases were scanned at the destination. had this happened at the origin, the thing would have had to survive being taped to the suitcase being mooshed around in the bilge the entire flight, plus the rough handling the bag would have gotten when it was unloaded and thrown on the conveyor belt afterward.
i really doubt it happened as advertised. i call BS.
Well a few years ago on a flight to Vermont my daughter made the mistake of packing all hers and her kids electronics in checked baggage. Guess what? Every single one of them stolen. Kids mini computer/toys, her laptop, etc. Airline said too bad, file a police report. She did. Luckily most of the stuff was purchased through my Amex so once the police report was faxed to Amex she got a check for a large percentage of the purchase price.
I am sure it happens alot but she learned a great lesson.
The more you examine the facts, the more hinky it seems.
Yep, more and more joining that list. ;-)
“How about jail.”
“What exactly would the criminal offense be in this case?”
Probably tampering with private property while in an official capacity with an International airline. But I think this may turn out to be one more gay hate crime hoax, with big bucks as the incentive.
I’d bet on it. I don’t think baggage handlers have time to do this bullsh*t, and they know airport security forbids it.
how did they know who’s bag it belonged to, assuming they found it loose in the hold? else how did they manage to get the time to scan the bag, take it out, then tape it back to the bag? baggage handlers don’t have that kind of time around a piece of luggage.
i bet scanners find this sort of stuff all the time and don’t care enough to make a ‘prank’ out of it.
my money sez this is bogus...
Outstanding post! & BTW, what is the OTTB Mare?
LoL LoL.....what happens when TSA, x-rays you and your baggage...what privacy do you have....NONE!
Did the bags go through US customs?
Humiliating? Don’t these weirdos hold public “pride” parades and prance around with their paraphernalia in full view of everyone, flaunting themselves and being in-your-face about it? They don’t seem to be “humiliated” then! I say nuisance lawsuit for publicity.
They may have to x-ray your luggage, but they don’t have to tape things you’d rather keep private to the outside of your luggage for everybody to see.
Gah! Did I just say that out loud!!!
You bad boy!
Keep reading...
I would say the greasy foul smelling substance is either Christopher or Martin’s fecal matter or both! Customs inspectors opened the luggage to inspect so if it happened, that’s who probably did it not TSA baggage handlers!
I just read the court filing.
They were returning from Costa Rica to Norfolk, connecting in Houston. At Houston they retreived their bags and passed through customs, and then re-checked the bags for the connecting flight to Norfolk. Everything ok up to that point.
Upon retreiving their checked baggage at Norfolk, to their chagrin, the “private sex toy” was no longer private.
If this is true, this can only be the work of TSA inspectors at Houston, who would inspect the bags before loading on the Houston-Norfolk flight.
A case like this with extensive discovery might start to uncover the full extent of TSA pilfering and theft from baggage, of which I have had occur twice. (Small valuables, nothing kinky!)
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