A judge has spared Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. of a possible default judgment in a lawsuit brought by an attorney who alleges he was falsely accused by airline employees of sexually touching a fellow passenger on a 2021 flight from Los Angeles to London.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stephanie M. Bowick granted a motion by airline attorneys to set aside Chima A. Anyanwu’s attempt to start the process toward a possible default judgment against Virgin. In her Friday ruling, Bowick found that an internal error by Virgin lead to the lawsuit’s process and summons not being referred to the company’s legal department so that an answer to Anyanwu’s complaint could be processed and filed in court.
The Virgin employee responsible for forwarding the suit worked in human resources and was traveling abroad at the time, Bowick wrote.
“The court finds this evidence sufficient to demonstrate that defendant’s failure to respond to the summons and complaint was due to mistake, inadvertence or excusable neglect,” the judge wrote.
In his lawsuit Anyanwu says he was later forced to go to court to face charges in London that were dropped. He maintains the Virgin workers are liable for his lost time and expenses.
“In fact, no scintilla of evidence was offered for the alleged sexual battery nor was any evidence shown for any misconduct or disruptive behavior by plaintiff while on board (the) Virgin Atlantic aircraft,” the suit filed last Oct. 5 states, alleging breach of contract, abuse of process, gender discrimination and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
The suit states that Anyanwu was seated near a female passenger and that the pair had a friendly conversation during the November 2021 flight. The two were at first separated by one seat due to coronavirus restrictions, but the woman later moved to the seat next to Anyanwu, put pillows on his lap and laid her head, then later her feet, on the pillows, according to the suit.
“Plaintiff did not find her behavior strange or odd because she had a limited room to stretch and the flight to London is a long flight…,” the suit states.
After the plane landed, two police officers came to Anyanwu’s seat and escorted him off the plane while everyone else was still seated and told him he was under arrest for the sexual touching of the female passenger without her consent, but the case was dropped in March 2022, according to the suit.
Anyanwu missed his mother’s funeral in Nigeria due to the legal proceedings, which he contends were based on false allegations pushed upon the female passenger by Virgin flight attendants, the suit states.