wnbubbleboy
Veteran
There is Bias to this artical but I'm sorry. It made me snicker a little.
Being compared to the evil super power because his girlfreind's jewelry was either lost or stolen is sorta I am not sure what the right word is but how about "crazy"?
I have two words for this guy "X" "BOX". Try it, you'll forget all about the silly jelwery.
On a more serious note:
OK Comrades in PHL, want to fess up? Come on we'll all turn our backs and if it appears there will be no questions asked.
Stu Bykofsky | This plaintiff passenger has high hopes for justiceWHILE I was vacationing in Helsinki a while back, a Finn told me his tiny country had gone to war with gigantic Russia 50 times - and lost each one.
Why do it? I asked. "To teach them a lesson," he said.
That's pretty much why I (think of me as Finland) sued Southwest Airlines (think of them as Russia) after my girlfriend's jewelry disappeared from her suitcase en route from San Antonio.
It's for me, of course, but also for every other air traveler who's ever been screwed over.
On Monday, much to my chagrin (because I would've won by default had they not appeared), Southwest Airlines - in the person of Cozen & O'Connor attorney MaryTeresa Soltis - landed in Municipal Court.
(Southwest offers passengers no frills, but spends large on lawyers to fight its passengers. You got to prioritize, right?)
Since I suspected legal tricks from Southwest, I had accepted the pro bono help of Mark Guralnick, a 22-year courtroom veteran with an aura I like. First, he's a Temple alum. Second, he was a reporter before deciding he might want to buy a new Lexus someday and switched to law. Third, suing airlines excites him.
Guralnick's pre-trial opening salvo was a legal Hail Mary, a motion for summary judgment that basically asked the court to accept my statements as Holy Grail, and move directly to the award phase (a.k.a. my Christmas bonus).
The motion was denied by some prunish judge who was being all jurisprudent, which is not what I was hoping for.
The next step was court-suggested mediation. I hoped Southwest would accept responsibility for the theft of jewelry from Baby Cake's luggage while it was in its hands, but they rejected mediation.
Stubborn as a mustard stain, smug and arrogant, Southwest would rather pay a lawyer than compensate my fiancee. My strategy: Beat Southwest like a rented mule, or at least make it spend more in legal fees than the $549.30 value of the jewelry that one of their sticky-fingered employees stole.
The case went to Municipal Court Senior Judge Morton Krase, who patiently heard - and probed - both sides.
Anticipating Southwest would hide behind its little-known "contract of carriage" (which absolves airlines from responsibility for most everything) Guralnick argued that since I was shown no contract, I had signed no contract and was aware of no contract, the one-sided "contract" is unfair to consumers.
In defense, Soltis first argued I lacked "standing" to file suit. "I'm 6' 2", what does she mean?" I asked Guralnick, who said it meant I'm not the injured party.
Using Solomonic wisdom, Judge Krase ruled that since the jewelry was stolen from a suitcase I owned, I was good to go.
Soltis next tried a legal end run - saying that since airlines are regulated by the federal government, I should take my case to federal court (which reminded me of a Groucho Marx joke.) Judge Krase replied that the incident occurred in his jurisdiction. Do we have to make a federal case out of everything, he wondered?
Soltis next argued I had no physical evidence that a Southwest staffer glommed the jewelry. Judge Krase said courts accept circumstantial evidence and my testimony amounted to evidence. Southwest didn't bother to send a witness.
Arrogant, I told you.
Finally, Soltis turned in a one-inch thick "memorandum of law," citing case law and precedent.
As a matter of fairness, Judge Krase said he'd read the thing before judgment. I wanted to start raving like "Boston Legal's" unhinged Denny Crane, but Guralnick shot me a look that could scrape ice off a windshield.
My day in court was inconclusive, but I'm not Finn-ished with Southwest. I'll keep you posted.
E-mail stubyko@phillynews.com or call 215-854-5977. For recent columns:
http://go.philly.com/byko.
email thisprint thisreprint or license this
Being compared to the evil super power because his girlfreind's jewelry was either lost or stolen is sorta I am not sure what the right word is but how about "crazy"?
I have two words for this guy "X" "BOX". Try it, you'll forget all about the silly jelwery.
On a more serious note:
OK Comrades in PHL, want to fess up? Come on we'll all turn our backs and if it appears there will be no questions asked.
Stu Bykofsky | This plaintiff passenger has high hopes for justiceWHILE I was vacationing in Helsinki a while back, a Finn told me his tiny country had gone to war with gigantic Russia 50 times - and lost each one.
Why do it? I asked. "To teach them a lesson," he said.
That's pretty much why I (think of me as Finland) sued Southwest Airlines (think of them as Russia) after my girlfriend's jewelry disappeared from her suitcase en route from San Antonio.
It's for me, of course, but also for every other air traveler who's ever been screwed over.
On Monday, much to my chagrin (because I would've won by default had they not appeared), Southwest Airlines - in the person of Cozen & O'Connor attorney MaryTeresa Soltis - landed in Municipal Court.
(Southwest offers passengers no frills, but spends large on lawyers to fight its passengers. You got to prioritize, right?)
Since I suspected legal tricks from Southwest, I had accepted the pro bono help of Mark Guralnick, a 22-year courtroom veteran with an aura I like. First, he's a Temple alum. Second, he was a reporter before deciding he might want to buy a new Lexus someday and switched to law. Third, suing airlines excites him.
Guralnick's pre-trial opening salvo was a legal Hail Mary, a motion for summary judgment that basically asked the court to accept my statements as Holy Grail, and move directly to the award phase (a.k.a. my Christmas bonus).
The motion was denied by some prunish judge who was being all jurisprudent, which is not what I was hoping for.
The next step was court-suggested mediation. I hoped Southwest would accept responsibility for the theft of jewelry from Baby Cake's luggage while it was in its hands, but they rejected mediation.
Stubborn as a mustard stain, smug and arrogant, Southwest would rather pay a lawyer than compensate my fiancee. My strategy: Beat Southwest like a rented mule, or at least make it spend more in legal fees than the $549.30 value of the jewelry that one of their sticky-fingered employees stole.
The case went to Municipal Court Senior Judge Morton Krase, who patiently heard - and probed - both sides.
Anticipating Southwest would hide behind its little-known "contract of carriage" (which absolves airlines from responsibility for most everything) Guralnick argued that since I was shown no contract, I had signed no contract and was aware of no contract, the one-sided "contract" is unfair to consumers.
In defense, Soltis first argued I lacked "standing" to file suit. "I'm 6' 2", what does she mean?" I asked Guralnick, who said it meant I'm not the injured party.
Using Solomonic wisdom, Judge Krase ruled that since the jewelry was stolen from a suitcase I owned, I was good to go.
Soltis next tried a legal end run - saying that since airlines are regulated by the federal government, I should take my case to federal court (which reminded me of a Groucho Marx joke.) Judge Krase replied that the incident occurred in his jurisdiction. Do we have to make a federal case out of everything, he wondered?
Soltis next argued I had no physical evidence that a Southwest staffer glommed the jewelry. Judge Krase said courts accept circumstantial evidence and my testimony amounted to evidence. Southwest didn't bother to send a witness.
Arrogant, I told you.
Finally, Soltis turned in a one-inch thick "memorandum of law," citing case law and precedent.
As a matter of fairness, Judge Krase said he'd read the thing before judgment. I wanted to start raving like "Boston Legal's" unhinged Denny Crane, but Guralnick shot me a look that could scrape ice off a windshield.
My day in court was inconclusive, but I'm not Finn-ished with Southwest. I'll keep you posted.
E-mail stubyko@phillynews.com or call 215-854-5977. For recent columns:
http://go.philly.com/byko.
email thisprint thisreprint or license this
