Brannon v. Delta Airlines, Inc.

• Decision Date: 22 January 2020
• Docket Number: No. 17-CV-6024 (RA),17-CV-6024 (RA)
• Citation: 434 F.Supp.3d 124
• Parties: Ralph BRANNON, Plaintiff, v. DELTA AIRLINES, INC., Rebecca Bernardin, Corie Nichols Posie, and the Port Authority of the State of New York and New Jersey, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

434 F.Supp.3d 124

Ralph BRANNON, Plaintiff,

v.DELTA AIRLINES, INC., Rebecca Bernardin, Corie Nichols Posie, and the Port Authority of the State of New York and New Jersey, Defendants.

No. 17-CV-6024 (RA)

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

Signed January 22, 2020

Ralph Brannon, New York, NY, pro se.

Louis Robert Martinez, Michael G. Maragoudakis, Martinez & Ritorto, P.C., Allen Acosta, Sajaa Sameeha Ahmed, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, New York, NY, for Defendants.

OPINION & ORDER

RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge:

This action arises out of an altercation between Plaintiff Ralph Brannon and several flight attendants on an August 11, 2016 Delta Airlines flight from Orlando, Florida to New York. Plaintiff, an attorney proceeding pro se ,¹ filed the action against Delta Airlines, Inc., Delta flight attendants Rebecca Bernardin and Corie Nichole Posey, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, asserting claims for unlawful racial discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, excessive force under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, as well as various state law claims.² Defendants Delta, Bernardin, and Posey (collectively, the "Delta Defendants") and Defendant the Port Authority have each moved for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motions are granted as to Plaintiff's federal claims, and the Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff's state law claims.

BACKGROUND³

On August 11, 2016, Plaintiff traveled on Delta Flight 494 from Orlando, Florida to LaGuardia Airport in New York using a "Buddy Pass" that he received through his friend Steven Greenidge, a Delta employee. Delta 56.1 ¶¶ 1-2, 6. A "Buddy Pass" is a "benefit given to Delta employees, which allows a family member or friend of an employee to fly standby on Delta flights." Id. ¶ 4. By using the Buddy Pass, Plaintiff was flying as a "non-revenue passenger," meaning that the did not pay for the flight. Id. ¶ 2.⁴

During the boarding process, Plaintiff asked Rebecca Bernardin, the lead flight attendant on Delta Flight 494, about the benefits of the "Comfort Plus" area in which he was sitting. Id. ¶¶ 8, 30. After checking the flight's manifest and realizing that no one had been assigned to the seat Plaintiff was sitting in, another flight attendant, Lindsay Grant, approached him and asked to see his boarding pass. Id. ¶¶ 9-10. Plaintiff complied, and Grant confirmed that he was sitting in the correct seat. Id. ¶ 11. Prior to take off, Plaintiff approached the flight attendants in the "front galley area" and asked for water, which he was given. Id. ¶ 12. He also requested a Coke, but at the moment he did so, the pilot announced that the aircraft was about to take off. Id. ¶¶ 13-14. Bernardin told Plaintiff they would provide his Coke during the drink service, and Plaintiff returned to his seat for take-off. Id. ¶¶ 14-15.

During the in-flight drink service, Grant approached Plaintiff and asked for his drink order. Id. ¶ 17. Plaintiff asked whether individuals seated in a "Comfort Plus" seat were entitled to a free alcoholic beverage, and after being told that they were, ordered a vodka cranberry. Id. ¶¶ 18-19. As Grant began making the vodka cranberry, Plaintiff also asked for the Coke he had requested before take-off. Id. ¶ 20. Grant thought Plaintiff had changed his mind about the vodka cranberry, and poured him a Coke instead. Id. ¶ 21. When she handed Plaintiff the Coke, he again asked for the vodka cranberry, which confused Grant. Id. ¶ 22. The Delta Defendants assert that Plaintiff then "rudely demanded" that he wanted a "vodka cran" and a Coke, and asked "how difficult is that to understand?" Id. ¶ 23. At this point, Grant realized that Plaintiff was "the non-revenue passenger who asked for the Coke on the ground," and subsequently "crouched down" in order to speak to [him] more privately. Id. ¶ 24. According to the Delta Defendants, Grant reminded Plaintiff that because he was a non-revenue passenger, he was obligated to follow the Delta Pass Travel Dress Code, Etiquette, and Conduct ("Code of Conduct"), and as such, "was not to be disrespectful to the flight crew." Id. ¶ 25.⁵ The Delta Defendants assert that Plaintiff then "began loudly arguing" with Grant and "falsely asserting that she was being rude to him." Id. ¶ 28. They further maintain that Grant then removed herself from the interaction. Id. As she was returning up the aisle after concluding the drink service, however, Grant overheard Plaintiff "complaining to the couple across the aisle about the rude service he received from the flight attendants." Id. ¶ 29. Grant returned to the front galley of the aircraft and informed Bernardin of her interaction with Plaintiff. Id. ¶ 30.

Shortly thereafter, Plaintiff went to use the lavatory in the front of the aircraft. Id. ¶ 32. Because the lavatory was occupied and another person was waiting to use it, Bernardin advised Plaintiff that there were two available lavatories in the back of the aircraft. Id. ¶¶ 32-33. According to the Delta Defendants, Plaintiff "appeared offended" by that "suggestion," but did not say anything in particular, and returned to his seat. Id. ¶ 34.

At another point in the flight, Corie Nichole Posey, a third flight attendant, passed Plaintiff's row and overheard him "voicing his displeasure with the flight attendants and Delta to other passengers seated near him." Id. ¶ 35.⁶ Posey informed Bernardin of Plaintiff's behavior when she returned to the front galley. Id. ¶ 40.

Bernardin subsequently approached Plaintiff and asked him to accompany her to the front galley for "a private word." Id. ¶ 41. According to the Delta Defendants, once at the front of the aircraft, Bernardin—standing with Grant and Posey—apologized to Plaintiff for any misunderstanding, and asked him to, in accordance with the Code of Conduct, "refrain from commenting negatively about Delta or the [flight attendants] to other passengers." Id. ¶¶ 42-43. She also told Plaintiff that if he had any issues, he could address them with her. Id. ¶ 44. All three flight attendants assert that the "only reason Plaintiff was approached and asked to come to the front of the cabin" was because he was "a Buddy Pass rider" and was acting in contravention of the Code of Conduct. Id. ¶ 45. According to the Delta Defendants, Plaintiff then "pointed" at Bernardin, "loudly stated" that he would not talk to her until the flight had landed, and "loudly exclaimed that the flight attendants were trying to make him out to be a ‘terrorist’ "⁷ while walking back to his seat, which made other passengers "visibly uncomfortable." Id. ¶¶ 46-47.

Because the flight attendants became concerned that "things could escalate further," they informed the flight's Captain, Captain Tiedt, of "the disruptive passenger on board." Id. ¶ 51 As a result, Captain Tiedt "radioed in" the issue and discussed it with Delta corporate security on the ground in Atlanta. Id. ¶ 52. Captain Tiedt also "made the precautionary decision to lock down the cockpit and have the aircraft met by a Delta supervisor and the police" upon landing. Id. ¶ 53.

At approximately 3:06 p.m., four Port Authority police officers at LaGuardia Airport received a radio call about a "disruptive passenger" aboard Flight 494. PA 56.1 ¶ 1. Upon receiving the call, the officers proceeded to the relevant gate at LaGuardia Airport and waited for Flight 494 to arrive. Id. ¶ 4. Once the flight landed, Captain Tiedt contacted Delta operations and was informed that the Port Authority would be meeting the aircraft at the gate. Delta 56.1 ¶ 55. Although the call that the Port Authority officers received erroneously stated that the allegedly disruptive passenger had been "zip tied abroad the plane and was under a seat," PA 56.1 ¶ 3, when he spoke to the officers, Captain Tiedt informed them that Plaintiff "was not restrained and had not been physically violent." Delta 56.1 ¶¶ 57-58. Captain Tiedt asked the officers if they wanted to come on board to speak with Plaintiff or if they wanted the Captain to identify Plaintiff as he deplaned with the rest of the passengers. Id. ¶ 61. In response, the Port Authority informed Captain Tiedt that they would board the aircraft to escort Plaintiff off the plane before general disembarking by the other passengers. Id. ¶ 62.

Two Port Authority officers, Officer Samantha Morris and supervisor Sergeant Regina Womack, then entered the plane and proceeded to Plaintiff's seat in a "non-threatening" manner, "with their service weapons holstered and [their] batons ... secured in their belts." PA 56.1 ¶¶ 6-8. Sergeant Womack, without "rais[ing] her voice or threaten[ing] Plaintiff in any way," asked Plaintiff to exit the aircraft so they could speak with him in the terminal, and Plaintiff "voluntarily" did so. Id. ¶¶ 9-10. As other passengers were disembarking, several noted to the flight's co-pilot, First Officer Velsor, who was standing at the door, "that the flight attendants did an outstanding job dealing with Plaintiff." Delta 56.1 ¶ 64.

In the airport terminal, the Port Authority officers interviewed Plaintiff for about 15 to 20 minutes. PA 56.1 ¶ 12, The officers did not "raise their voices or make any verbal statements that would indicate to Plaintiff that he was under arrest or otherwise being detained," id. ¶ 13, nor did they place handcuffs on Plaintiff or physically touch him, id. ¶ 15. Indeed, Plaintiff testified at his deposition that he did not feel restrained or intimidated by the Port Authority officers during their interaction. Id. ¶ 14. Rather, he spoke to the officers "voluntarily" to provide his own narrative about what had happened on the flight. Id. ¶ 17. As he was being interviewed, the flight attendants from Flight 494 walked by, and Plaintiff shouted at Grant, calling her an "evil bitch." Delta 56.1 ¶ 65.

After Plaintiff was escorted off the plane, the Port Authority also interviewed "all involved."...