The 5th Circ. refused to keep alive a lawsuit by United Airlines flight attendants claiming a plane’s smoke alarm caused permanent hearing loss, finding that they “squandered” their chance to follow the lower court’s orders when it came to establishing jurisdiction.
The appellate court affirmed a federal Texas judge’s decision to dismiss Lee Marvin Sanders’ and Matthew Sodrok’s 2018 lawsuit against Boeing Co., Kidde Technologies Inc. and Jamco America Inc. The plaintiffs failed to establish subject-matter jurisdiction by not properly saying in which state they were “domiciled.”
The United Airlines employees claimed that during a normal flight in 2017, a smoke alarm for no reason sounded off in the aircraft. The “louder than necessary” alert caused Sanders and Sodrok’s ears to bleed. They were later diagnosed with burst eardrums and permanent hearing loss. They claimed the three aerospace companies were negligent and breached an implied warranty.