CAMDEN -- A antagonistic American Airlines flight accessory "viciously" ruined a woman's bells dress with red wine as she flew to her bells in Jamaica, the helpmate claims in a new lawsuit.
Yewande Oteh and her ancestors are suing the airline, arguing that it bootless to anticipate or investigate the 2015 incident.
Oteh claims she watched as flight accessory Melanie Masters put article into the aerial bin area her dress was stored by itself anon afterwards they had a acrimonious barter about area her clothes could be stored.
The abolition of the dress a anniversary afore the bells batty the celebrations, fabricated Oteh addled and physically sick, and "has acquired a lifetime of damage," the clothing says.
Oteh, a contempo law academy graduate, lived in Cherry Hill at the time. Oteh's mother and the advocate apery the ancestors in the suit, Yvette Sterling, told The Courier-Post that Oteh now lives in Boston.
Oteh, her husband, Chidi Oteh, and their 9-month-old son were aerial from Philadelphia to Jamaica, area her grandparents live, for their bells Aug. 14, 2015. The clothing says that a admission abettor at the airport told Oteh that she should carry her dress assimilate the even and adhere it a closet.
But Oteh claims that aback she boarded, accustomed her babyish and the dress in a carrier bag, and asked Masters area she could adhere the dress, Masters "became acrimonious and agitated, and began to allocution to plaintiff in a adverse advancing way, instructing her that the closet amplitude was not for passengers."
As instructed, Oteh instead begin a amplitude in an abandoned aerial bin in aboriginal class.
The affianced brace took their seats and Oteh watched the aerial bin carefully, "fearful that flight accessory may booty out the assailment on herself, her bells gown, or her family," according to the suit.
At one point, she claims she witnessed Masters "open the bin with her appropriate hand, while article was application her larboard hand" that Oteh couldn't identify. Afterwards in the flight, Masters and addition flight accessory afresh opened the bin captivation the dress, the clothing says.
When they landed, the brace was abashed to acquisition that the dress was blood-soaked through with what they afterwards bent was red wine, according to the suit.
There was no canteen or added antecedent of the wine in the alcove and they were abiding that no one had accessed the aerial bin added than Masters. They approved out airport police, who they said chock-full the even as it was abandonment and questioned the flight staff. The clothing does not say what became of that investigation.
The accusation says Oteh was so fatigued by the accident of the dress, which could not be bankrupt before the wedding, if at all, that she was ailing and absent some of the bells activities that week.
She said she additionally spent hours attractive for a new dress in Jamaica afore her sister flew aback to Florida and bought several for her to accept from.
"Plaintiff bootless to adore the bells as she was in a dress that was not the one she spent months attractive for," Sterling wrote in the lawsuit.
The ancestors claims that American Airlines didn't appropriately investigate the complaints filed adjoin Masters and denied wrongdoing. Asked to respond, a agent for the airline said alone that it was reviewing the lawsuit.
The ancestors is gluttonous amercement as able-bodied as costs and fees, claiming the airline was behindhand and carefully inflicted affecting ache and acquired Oteh "physical and brainy injuries."
The clothing additionally names as a actor US Airways Group, which alloyed with afterwards the adventure in 2015. Masters is not called as a defendant.
Rebecca Everett may be accomplished at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Acquisition NJ.com on Facebook.
