Man Pistol Whipped in
Istanbul Airport Sued Turkish Airlines Which
Wants to Re-Appeal
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Aug 23 – Otar Dularidze was
taking Turkish Airlines from
Tblisi, Georgia via Istanbul
to New York City, specifically
Brooklyn where he lives, when
he was beaten and pistol
whipped in the Istanbul
airport. He sued.
On
September 4 U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge
Gregory H. Woods held a
proceeding. Inner City Press
covered it.
At
issue is whether Dularidze and
his spouse Alona Lensky can
sued Turkish Airlines under
the Montreal Protocol, with
the beat-down being considered
an accident during
international travel.
Turkish
Airlines' lawyer Christopher
Carlsen of Clyde & Co. of
405 Lexington Avenue said the
airline has no control over
those who allegedly beat
Dularidze, and that the forum
would be more convenient in
Turkey.
Dularidze's
lawyer Thatcher Stone now of
Virginia, after emphasizing
how well he gets along with
Carlsen, said that the Turkish
justice system cannot be
trusted.
He said
that even walking in a airport
from one gate to another, one
is engaged in international
travel.
Stone at the end asked Judge
Woods when the SDNY courthouse
would re-open.
Judge Woods said
it is already open, he held a
bench trial in July. Stone
laughed and said he looked
forward to coming north, "once
there is a vaccine."
Jump cut to
August 23, 2024, after a
remand, TA now saying it has
to fight for the industry, thread
Counsel for
Turkish Airlines: This is a
garden variety personal injury
case [Complaint says "The
other officer pull out his gun
and pressed the barrel between
his eyes, threatening to kill
him."] Counsel for Turkish
Airlines: We cannot discuss
resolving the case
Counsel for
Turkish Airlines: Such
jurisdiction has never been
granted in the United States.
Plaintiffs' lawyer: We want to
reconnect with the Montreal
Convention. We happy to take
it back to the Second Circuit.
It's a zeitgeist thing -
Judge: Leaving that aside
Judge: Is there
anything I can do to help the
parties work toward a
resolution of the case?
Counsel for Turkish Airlines:
It's probably a case that
could and should be settled.
But the issue of general
jurisdiction over Turkish
Airlines under 4(2)(k), it's
big
Counsel for
Turkish Airlines: It not
challenged, it would mean any
airline that flies into the US
regularly is subject to
general jurisdiction. We have
not come up with a way to get
rid of the decision on the
books. It's an industry issue.
We have to challenge it
Plaintiffs
lawyer: This decision is in
the bag. They could challenge
it next time around. We're
just kind of along for the
ride at this point. Judge: I'm
going suspend the rest of my
agenda until we address this
issue. I am open to ideas.
Adjourned.
The case is
Lensky et al v. Turkish
Airlines, Inc., 20-cv-4978
(Woods)
***
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