A gay couple from Virginia has accused United Continental Airlines of outrageous and extreme conduct following an incident that is alleged to have involved the couple’s sex toy. They said it had been taped to their luggage to be left in full view of all the other passengers. The incident, both men said, caused them to suffer from emotional trauma.
The couple, Martin Borger and his partner Chris Bridgeman filed the suit that is seeking damages for intentional infliction resulting in emotional stress, negligence by the airline and an invasion of their personal privacy. Lawyers for the couple filed the lawsuit in Texas. Borger said he gets butterflies in his stomach when he thinks about the incident.
United Continental said in a statement that it had conducted a complete and thorough investigation that did not turn up any evidence supporting the claims of the plaintiffs. A spokesman for the airline said it was the airline’s policy not to tolerate any form of discrimination. The spokesman went on to say the airline planed to defend its employees and itself very vigorously.
The incident is alleged to have occurred in May of 2011 when the two men returned from a trip to Costa Rica. The two flew into Virginia following a layover in Houston. When they had arrived in Houston, they cleared immigration, then picked up their luggage and cleared customs. Following that, they rechecked their baggage for the flight to Virginia.
When they arrived in Virginia and went to claim their luggage, they said their sex toy had been taped to the exterior of the luggage in full view of everyone waiting to claim luggage. When fellow passengers saw the luggage they started to laugh at the couple, according to documents filed in court.
