James Williams v. United Airlines Inc.
Published: Nov. 8, 2001 | Result Date: Jul. 25, 2001 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: CV0010900 – $0
Judge
Court
USDC Central
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Isaiah Benjamin Blady
(Blady Weinreb Law Group LLP)
Facts
The plaintiff, a 54-year-old male, had worked for the defendant, United Airlines, for 20 years. In 1994 he applied
for a position as an Account Executive in the Los Angeles Cargo Sales Division and was hired by his eventual
supervisor, James Trabucco. As an account executive, the plaintiff spent most of his time outside the office. As
part of his employment benefits, the defendant allowed the plaintiff to take personal flights at discounted fares.
The plaintiff took personal flights during workdays on over 30 occasions during a two-year period, without
those days being counted as vacation or other leave.
In 1999, the plaintiffÆs supervisor, Trabucco, discovered that the plaintiff had been taking
personal flights during a workday after he had failed to attend a meeting. After investigating the
matter, the supervisor terminated the plaintiffÆs employment.
Settlement Discussions
The plaintiff demanded $100,000 and travel benefits to settle the case. The defendant offered to settle the case for travel benefits.
Result
The court held that the plaintiff had no evidence that the defendant terminated him because of his age, instead of his unauthorized travels during workdays. The court held that the plaintiff had no evidence of any actions by the defendant that could lead a jury to find a contract to terminate him only for good cause, or that the defendant lacked good cause for terminating him.
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