Flying Imams - Well In Excess Of $100,000 Each For Hurt Feelings

The pretrial conference in the Flying Imams case took place by telephone on February 5. Again, I'm not legally literate, but I grasp that the purpose of the pretrial conference is set up ground rules for the damages involved, the amount and scope of discovery, the rummaging of each side through the other side's business, and the time frame for when discovery finishes and when the actual trial starts.

It seemed pretty much like boiler-plate until it got to the alleged damages. It started with Ahmed Shqeirat:

Ahmed Shqeirat: Plaintiff Shqeirat has suffered intangible losses including pain, suffering, loss of liberty, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, humiliation, and the like. Because the damages are intangible, it is difficult to itemize the dollar amount of each element of the alleged damages. Plaintiff estimates the dollar amount of his damages to be well in excess of $100,000.

[So that's well in excess $100,000 in intangible damages. We haven't gotten to the tangible damages yet.]

Mr. Shqeirat's tangible damages include expenses incurred as a result of the inconvenience of traveling on airlines other than US Airways.

[It should be noted that Mr. Shqeirat, or any of the other imams, are permitted to fly on US Airways, so the inconvenience is purely manufactured.]

Additionally, Plaintiff has incurred expenses in time and money caused by increased scrutiny by law enforcement during air travel.

[I would be interested in knowing exactly which law enforcement agencies have been regarding Ahmed Shqeirat with increased scrutiny, so that I could commend them.]

As a result of US Airways and MAC [Metropolitan Airports Commission]'s conduct on November 20-21 [2006] and the following defamatory statements, Mr. Shqeirat's reputation has been badly damaged. Mr. Shqeirat's freedom to conduct meaningful business opportunities has been limited. Mr. Shqeirat is a businessman in addition to being a religious leader. Following the november 20-21 incidents, his transactions have been scrutinized delayed and his merchandise has been withheld.

[There has been no mention in the media of Ahmed Shqeirat being a businessman. Now I'm curious to know what his business and merchandise are.]

This has resulted in loss of business opportunities, profits and potential clients. These tangible damages will be determined at trial.


The damage claims for each of the other imams included intangible damages of well in excess of $100,000, and tangible damages to be determined at trial. The only other thing that caught my attention was something in Omar Shahin's damage claim...

Mr. Shahin's time and money opportunity has been diminished as a result of not being able to travel freely and on time. His tickets are always marked (XXX). He has been searched each time he flies. This has limited his ability to attend seminars and events on time.


I have a number of questions about this. Is it just one airline that has marked Shahin's ticket (XXX), or is it every airline on which Shahin has flown? Has Shahin flown on more than one airline? I believe so. Is the TSA responsible for the ticket markings and the searches? Is Shahin searched at the security checkpoint, or somewhere else? This is interesting, because I have complained loudly and bitterly about the TSA's lack of action regarding the Flying Imams. Perhaps the TSA did do something after all.