Shqeirat v. U.S. Airways Group, Inc.

Citation645 F.Supp.2d 765
Decision Date24 July 2009
Docket NumberCiv. No. 07-1513 ADM/AJB.
PartiesAhmed SHQEIRAT, Mohamed Ibrahim, Didmar Faja, Omar Shahin, Mahmoud Sulaiman, and Marwan Sadeddin, Plaintiffs, v. U.S. AIRWAYS GROUP, INC., U.S. Airways, Inc., Metropolitan Airports Commission, Bradley Wingate, individually and in his official capacity, Roby Desubijana, individually and in his official capacity, Matthew Edwards, individually and in his official capacity, Sean Hoerdt, individually and in his official capacity, Jason Ericksen, individually and in his official capacity, David Karsnia, individually and in his official capacity, and Michael N. Cannizzaro, individually and in his official capacity, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

Omar T. Mohammedi, Esq., Law Firm of Omar T. Mohammedi, LLC, New York, NY, and Frederick J. Goetz, Esq., Goetz & Eckland P.A., Minneapolis, MN, argued on behalf of Plaintiffs.

Raoul D. Kennedy, Esq., Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, San Francisco, CA, argued on behalf of U.S. Airways Group, Inc., and U.S. Airways, Inc.

Timothy R. Schupp, Esq., Flynn, Gaskins & Bennett, L.L.P., Minneapolis, MN, argued on behalf of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, Bradley Wingate, Roby Desubijana, Matthew Edwards, Sean Hoerdt, Jason Ericksen, and David Karsnia.

Chad A. Blumenfield, Assistant United States Attorney, Minneapolis, MN, argued on behalf of Michael N. Cannizzaro.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ANN D. MONTGOMERY, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

On May 5, 2009, the undersigned United States District Judge heard oral argument on Defendant Michael N. Cannizzaro's ("Cannizzaro") Motion to Dismiss [Docket No. 230], Defendants Bradley Wingate ("Wingate"), Roby Desubijana ("Desubijana"), Matthew Edwards ("Edwards"), Sean Hoerdt ("Hoerdt"), Jason Ericksen ("Ericksen"), and David Karsnia's ("Karsnia") (collectively the "MAC Defendants") Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket No. 233], and Defendants U.S. Airways Group, Inc. and U.S. Airways, Inc.'s (collectively "U.S. Airways") Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket No. 240]. The Court also heard oral argument on Plaintiffs Ahmed Shqeirat ("Shqeirat"), Mohamed Ibrahim ("Ibrahim"), Didmar Faja ("Faja"), Omar Shahin ("Shahin"), Mahmoud Sulaiman ("Sulaiman"), and Marwan Sadeddin's ("Sadeddin") (collectively "Plaintiffs") Second Motion for Relief Per Rule 56(f) [Docket No. 273]. For the reasons set forth below, Cannizzaro's Motion is granted in part and denied in part, the MAC Defendants' Motion is denied, U.S. Airways' Motion is granted, and Plaintiffs' Motion is denied.

II. BACKGROUND1

All six Plaintiffs are imams, Islamic religious leaders, residing in the United States. Goetz Aff. [Docket No. 269], Ex. A (Shahin Dep.) at 17-18, 54; Ex. B (Shqeirat Dep.) at 17; Ex. C (Sadeddin Dep.) at 17-18; Ex. D (Faja Dep.) at 17-21. Shahin is a U.S. citizen residing in Phoenix, Arizona. Shahin Dep. at 5, 20. Shqeirat is a U.S. citizen residing in Tempe, Arizona. Shqeirat Dep. at 5, 30. Sadeddin, who is totally blind as the result of a degenerative disorder, is a U.S. citizen who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Sadeddin Dep. at 5, 8, 11-13. Sulaiman and Faja currently reside in Arizona, and Ibrahim currently resides in California. Faja Dep. at 21; 3d Am. Compl. [Docket No. 225] ¶¶ 13, 16.

From November 18 through 20, 2006, Plaintiffs attended the North American Imams Federation ("NAIF") conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Shahin Dep. at 31-32. Shahin is on NAIF's Board of Trustees and purchased round trip airline tickets for himself and the other Plaintiffs on U.S. Airways. Id. at 29, 56-57. Before attending the conference, Shahin contacted the FBI's Public Relations Officer in Minnesota to inform him about the conference and invited the FBI to give a presentation. Id. at 67-70. The FBI was unable to send an official to the conference. Id.

Plaintiffs were ticketed on a U.S. Airways flight ("Flight 300") on November 20, 2006, from Minneapolis, Minnesota to Phoenix, Arizona. Goetz Aff., Ex. E. On the day of their flight, they took a hotel shuttle to the airport and arrived to check-in at approximately 3:30 p.m. Shahin Dep. at 71. Plaintiffs each checked in and received a seat assigned to them by U.S. Airways. Id. at 62; Shqeirat Dep. at 46, 49; Sadeddin Dep. at 60-61; Faja Dep. at 38. They passed through the security checkpoint and proceeded to Gate C-9 to await boarding. Shahin Dep. at 75. Because there were insufficient open seats at Gate C-9, Plaintiffs sat in seats near C-10. Id. at 79-80.

Observant Muslims typically pray five times a day, and the prayers are time sensitive. Id. at 72; Shqeirat Dep. at 65. When traveling, Muslims may combine prayers or wait until they arrive at their destination to pray. Shahin Dep. at 72. Muslims often pray in airports when they travel, and Plaintiffs had never previously experienced problems when they prayed nor had they witnessed problems when other Muslims prayed in airports across the United States. Shqeirat Dep. at 208-209.

Around 4:20 p.m., Shahin, Sulaiman, and Ibrahim decided to pray the final two prayers of the day: Maghreb (sunset prayer) and Ishaa (evening prayer). Id. at 63, 65. The three men faced northeast with Sulaiman, the prayer leader, in front. Shahin Dep. at 92, 249. The other three Plaintiffs remained in their seats to secure the luggage. Shqeirat Dep. at 64-65. Sulaiman recited verses of the Koran, leading the others through the stages of the prayers and speaking loud enough to enable Shahin and Ibrahim to hear him. Shahin Dep. at 90-93. During the prayer, Sulaiman, Shahin, and Ibrahim changed positions from standing to kneeling to prostrating. Id. at 249. Sulaiman would signal to the others that it was time to move by saying "Allah Akbar." Id. The men prayed for roughly five minutes. Id. at 90.

Soon after the three men finished praying, U.S. Airways began boarding Flight 300. Id. at 95. As a frequent flyer who had been upgraded to first class, Shahin boarded first and sat in his assigned window seat in the first row. Id. at 96-97; Mohammedi Aff. [Docket No. 268] Ex. 1 (Shahin Aff.) ¶ 3. Shqeirat and Faja boarded the plane next to sit in their assigned adjoining seats at the back of the aircraft. Shqeirat Dep. at 82-83. Next, Sulaiman guided Sadeddin onto the plane, and Sadeddin took his assigned seat. Sadeddin Dep. at 57, 60. Sulaiman asked another passenger if he would switch seats with Sadeddin so the two imams could sit together, and the passenger helped Sadeddin to a seat across the aisle from Sulaiman in the middle of the plane. Id. at 61-63. The obliging passenger then took Sadeddin's assigned seat. Id. Ibrahim also boarded the plane.

While the boarding process continued, Shahin went back into the main cabin to offer to switch his first class seat with Sadeddin, but Sadeddin declined the offer. Shahin Dep. at 106-08. Upon returning to the first class cabin, the 6'1", 285 pound, Shahin requested and received a seatbelt extension from the flight attendant. Id. at 109-11. The 5'11", 250 pound Sadeddin also requested and received a seatbelt extension. Mohammedi Aff. Ex. 3 (Sadeddin Aff.) ¶ 8. Sadeddin Dep. at 63-65.

The pilot twice announced that Flight 300 was being delayed beyond its scheduled departure time. Faja Dep. at 58. After the second announcement, both Faja and Shqeirat saw police cars near the plane. Id.; Shqeirat Dep. at 85.

Wingate, Desubijana, Hoerdt, and Edwards were all Metropolitan Airports Commission ("MAC") officers on duty on November 20, 2006. Schupp Aff. [Docket No. 237], Ex. A (Wingate Dep.) at 56; Ex. B (Desubijana Dep.) at 52; Ex. C (Hoerdt Dep.) at 19; Ex. D (Edwards Dep.) at 41. All of the officers were at or near the Lindbergh terminal when dispatch received the following call from U.S. Airways:

Dispatch: (inaudible)

Penny: Hi, this is Penny with U.S. Airways.

Dispatch: Okay.

Penny: We have a situation on a flight down at Gate C-9.

Dispatch: Okay. What's the problem?

Penny: Where a note was passed—do you want me to go into detail or—

Dispatch: Oh, just give me an idea of what—what's going on.

Penny: We're going to be pulling off six Arabic passengers. There was some behavior in the gate area and also on the aircraft.

Dispatch: Okay. And what were they doing?

Penny: In the gate area, they were praying very loudly. A passenger handed us a note—or the flight crew a note that one of the—

Dispatch: (inaudible). One of these people handed the flight attendant a note?

Penny: Not—

Dispatch: Oh.

Penny:—one of these people, just another passenger—

Dispatch: Okay. Yup.

Penny:—saying that they were all praying together saying Allah, Allah, Allah—

Dispatch: 47 dispatch (inaudible).

Penny:—and cursing U.S. (inaudible) involvement with Saddam before the flight.

Dispatch: Okay.

Penny: And three of the passengers were booked on an earlier flight, on the 18th of November. All missed their flight, and we re-booked one way going to Phoenix today.

Dispatch: Okay. So do you want an officer down there while you pull these people off; is that what you are saying?

Penny: I'd probably say a couple officers.

Id., Ex. E (dispatch tape). The dispatcher directed Desubijana and Wingate to Gate C-9 to assist U.S. Airways in deplaning some passengers. Id.; Desubijana Dep. at 91. Wingate was the first officer to respond to the call, and he interviewed U.S. Airways manager Robby Davis ("Davis") in the jetway. Wingate Dep. at 150-51. Davis informed Wingate that U.S. Airways was going to deny service to six passengers on Flight 300. Id. at 154. Davis related that a passenger had observed suspicious behavior and handed the pilot a note about it, some of the individuals had checked no luggage, some had asked for seatbelt extensions, some had one-way tickets, and all six were of Middle Eastern descent. Id. Davis then gave Wingate a copy of the passenger's note. Id. at 181. The...

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