Jesse Maiman, Yale Student, Sues Airline For $1M Over Lost Xbox

CINCINNATI — A Yale University student from Ohio has filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million from US Airways for a video game console he says was taken from his luggage.

Twenty-one-year-old Jesse Maiman alleges that during a flight from New Haven, Conn., to Cincinnati in December, his Xbox 360 with a specialized hard drive disappeared from his luggage.

Maiman says he got what he called "an unconscionable run-around" from the airline. He's asking $1,700 for the loss of the gaming system and for the maximum damages allowable, or $1 million.

Maiman filed the suit Monday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

A US Airways spokeswoman said the airline was unaware of the suit but noted that the government limits liability for lost luggage to $3,300 per bag.

___

Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com

Comments

[rabiddog6708]

07:44 PM on 03/11/2009

Airlines lose luggage all the time, unfortunat­ely. Mr. Maiman is wasting the court's time with this lawsuit. I wish him luck but I work in travel industry and know from experience he might get a few hundred dollars if he is lucky.

[x004Ronin]

06:34 PM on 03/11/2009

"A US Airways spokeswoma­n said the airline was unaware of the suit but noted that the government limits liability for lost luggage to $3,300 per bag."

That last line elevated the situation from amusing to hilarious.

[Daniel D 68]

06:20 PM on 03/11/2009

You lost my X Box!

What X Box?

Next in line please

[Clare53]

06:04 PM on 03/11/2009

The little sh.it should get the cost of the Xbox and and $100 for the runaround, nothing more.

[EHarold]

06:06 PM on 03/11/2009

Guess you've never put any time into a video game before? I fully agree go for the 1 million.

[amdezurik]

06:37 PM on 03/11/2009

let's hear you say that if your car is stolen.

[x004Ronin]

06:43 PM on 03/11/2009

Yeah Clare53, if the airline ever lost the car you checked in at the airport, I bet you'd clamor for more than just the cost of the car and a extra bit of money to pay for the inconvenie­nce!

[curly2]

05:51 PM on 03/11/2009

US Airways is awful with this kind of stuff. A few months ago I was traveling on a multi-leg flight for business and was boarding at Phoenix. I always bring one overnight bag and a laptop, and carry everything on. While in the corridor boarding the flight they ran out of overhead compartmen­t space (which happens way too often) so they gate-check­ed my overnight bag. Once I sat down I realized I left my purse inside the bag.

Sure enough, the purse (with wallet inside) was gone when my bag came off the carousel.

US Airway's response was that it was impossible for my purse to be stolen from my suitcase, since it is company policy that no employee can open a suitcase. Hence, no one did open my suitcase and my purse wasn't stolen.

Several months later I received a call from a US Airways baggage claim rep in North Carolina, they had my wallet (thought the not the purse) and were kind enough to mail it to me All of the US cash was gone ($40), but $100 in Euros was still in there, go figure.

[GallopingCat]

05:41 PM on 03/11/2009

Gaming systems are more like laptops in a way, storing informatio­n related to gaming users, as well as music and pictures. Many games lock content that can only be unlocked after hours of gameplay. A million dollars is one thing, but if the airline lost your laptop, I doubt that most of you would be filing a lawsuit for "just the cost of the laptop".

The amount of his lawsuit may be frivolous, but his claim is not. The informatio­n stored on electronic­s has a value as well. What if the airline lost your iPhone or iPod?

Feel free to not understand anything I said and reply "but not a million dollars".

[beekeeper]

05:38 PM on 03/11/2009

sniveling puke

[amdezurik]

06:33 PM on 03/11/2009

you're looking in a mirror we see

[bulfinch]

05:25 PM on 03/11/2009

That will teach them to give a runaround to a future king of the universe whose slightest inconvenie­nce is a matter of great importance­! Don't believe me? Ask his mother.

[amdezurik]

06:34 PM on 03/11/2009

nice to see you support thieves, very GOP of you

[iawill]

05:20 PM on 03/11/2009

While I understand the student's frustratio­n, especially after getting the "runaround­" from the airport, I cannot condone his request for $1 million dollars. I too believe the airline should reimburse him for his xBox and probably some games and probably give him a free ticket to fly anywhere in the continenta­l U.S. We have become too suit happy in this country and it needs to stop -- especially in light of our dire economic times.
I traveled from Tokyo, Japan to Washington (Dulles Airport) last January. It was not until I got to my car in the parking lot that I noticed that someone at the airline had ripped the zipper on my garment bag. The person(s) then proceeded to tuck the zipper so far into the luggage that it was not immediatel­y noticeable­. There was no need for them to be so rough with the luggage as I have never locked it, even before the rule was put into place. When I contacted the airline I was informed that because I left the premises of the airport there was nothing they could do for me. I was furious but needless to say I now check my luggage (especiall­y the zippers) thoroughly before leaving baggage claim.

[amdezurik]

06:34 PM on 03/11/2009

so they are too big to be held liable for letting his property be stolen?

[longfeltwant]

06:39 PM on 03/11/2009

He's not trying to get a million dollars, silly. He understand­s the legal system, in which you ask for a thousand times more than you actually plan to get. If there is anything wrong with that, blame the legal system.

In the 80s, my family sued a pharmacy for giving my epileptic brother the wrong meds, which led to a seizure. I was a child and don't remember how much we sued for, but it was millions, and we got what we hoped for, which was a few tens of thousands. That's just how it works.

[Bitsko]

05:15 PM on 03/11/2009

Expect this law suit to show up on Judge Judy next season.

[RustyGranite]

04:52 PM on 03/11/2009

Good, sue the sh*t out of them.

Maybe it will make them take better security measures so their "people" aren't stealing from our bags.

[CosmicSpaceTurtle]

04:03 PM on 03/11/2009

Ridiculous­. He should be compensate­d for the exact cost of the X-Box, and not a single cent more. Maybe if the airline wants to be nice they can give him a free ticket or two for future flights.

It is beyond ludicrous to have the audacity to ask for a million dollars for a lost video game console.

[Bitsko]

05:17 PM on 03/11/2009

Doesn't he deserve some compensati­on for all the Halo games he missed out on? For today's spoiled brats, this is surely a hardship.

[longfeltwant]

06:42 PM on 03/11/2009

The cost of the X-Box isn't at all related to the value of the X-Box, which is specifical­ly noted to have a special modificati­on, and furthermor­e surely contains valuable data. And furthermor­e yet, suing for a million dollars doesn't at all mean he wants or expects a million dollars, that's just not how torts work. You sue for way more than you think you should get, and negotiate.

[steveRB]

03:58 PM on 03/11/2009

This kid will be CEO of Citigroup in a few years.

[Bitsko]

05:27 PM on 03/11/2009

He'll have to go through Trig first.

[Irishfly]

03:58 PM on 03/11/2009

I hope he loses and has to pay all court costs.
I am a former airline manager and an attorney.
First, let me say shame on the attorney that took this case- it's frivolous and the attorney should be censured for even filing the complaint. This is precisely why people have a bad view of lawyers.
Second, how will this kid prove the Xbox was in his luggage?
Third, READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS on the website, on the ticket, on the ticket jacket. Read the signs posted everywhere at the check-in telling you what NOT to pack. I would assume that a Yale student operates on at least a college reading level.
Fourth, airline employees do not have the time to look through some snot nosed Yale student's luggage. They're too busy being downsized and tossed around by management for way too little money, not to mention being put in harm's way when the company does not want to pay to upgrade facilities or safety equipment.
Fifth, shame on you, you entitled, bratty child.

[abius83]

04:14 PM on 03/11/2009

Sweet.

[-0013]

04:29 PM on 03/11/2009

It would be great if he sued, lost and had to pay the court costs but unfortunat­ely that's not how our system works. If the loser in BS suits like this always had to pay the court costs for both parties these a-holes wouldn't be suing people all the time.

[longfeltwant]

07:30 PM on 03/11/2009

I'm just not clear on why you are siding with the thief. Why don't you think the thief should pay for its crime? That seems glaringly obvious to me.

[Isabellaqua]

03:34 PM on 03/11/2009

For my trip to South America, I was going to be at a fancy wedding and in 2 very different climates-A­ndean snow (La Paz in the winter) and steamy jungles. I packed my best fall and summer clothes in a gigantic suitcase locked (at that time you could lock your suitcase) To my horror the suitcase arrived completely empty. I received very little compensati­on from American Airlines because it was an internatio­nal flight. It never ocurred to me to sue. Every once in awhile I think about some of the dresses I lost-my mom had made me a few gowns and there were some items that were one of a kind. I cried for a day and then went went trekking into the remotest parts of Bolivia...­at least I had my sneakers.

[bulfinch]

05:27 PM on 03/11/2009

Which brings up the subject of event weddings- and dragging guests halfway across the world to witness this stupendous event that could be easily accomplish­ed somewhere in the real world- Jersey City for example.

[longfeltwant]

07:28 PM on 03/11/2009

I would be inclined to believe you, but other people on this forum here have asserted that airline employees simply don't have the time or inclinatio­n to look in your bag and steal from you. Are you sure you aren't just making up that whole story? That's what some other people think.