Biscone v. JetBlue Airways Corp

In Biscone v. JetBlue Airways Corp., 103 AD3d 158, 957 NYS2d 361 (2d Dept 2012), the plaintiff was a passenger on a JetBlue aircraft that was scheduled to depart New York's JFK airport en route to Burbank, California, at 6:45 a.m. But the aircraft stayed on the ground for 11 hours until the plaintiff and other passengers were allowed to exit the aircraft at 5:30 p.m. During that time the plane's ventilation system shut down, the toilet tanks filled and only small amounts of water were provided to the passengers. The plaintiff's complaint contained state common-law causes of action for false imprisonment, negligence, negligence per se, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and deceit, and breach of contract. The Appellate Division in Biscone engaged in a lengthy analysis of the current state of federal law with respect to the meaning of the term "service" in the ADA and FAAAA. In delivering the Court's opinion Justice Leonard Austin reasoned as follows: "Despite the lack of consensus among federal courts as to the specific meaning of 'service,' there is a general understanding that the ADA's preemption provision does not preempt all state-law tort claims. The United States Supreme Court suggested as much in a footnote in [American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens, 513 US 219, 115 S Ct 817, 130 L Ed 2d 715 [1995])]. The Court cited the former FAA provision, currently codified at 49 USC 41112 (a), that requires airlines to obtain insurance policies 'for bodily injury to, or death of, an individual or for loss of, or damage to, property of others, resulting from the operation or maintenance of the aircraft,' and noted that the airline did not claim that 'the ADA preempts personal injury claims relating to airline operations.' " (Id. at 172.) Second Department in Biscone found that "the provision of food, water, clean air, and toilet facilities, as well as the ability to deplane after a prolonged period on the tarmac, all relate to and implicate an airline service." Consequently, the Court found that the ADA preempted the plaintiff's claims for false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and fraud and deceit. But the Court found that " the ADA preemption provision did not apply to negligence claims alleging personal injury." In so doing the Court cited the holding of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Hodges v. Delta Airlines, Inc. 44 F3d 334 (5th Cir 1994). In Biscone v. JetBlue Airways Corp., the Appellate Division, Second Department held that, inter alia, although a case may be electronically filed, the provisions of the CPLR apply. In Biscone, the plaintiff, in making a motion to reargue, did not refile all the motion papers and exhibits from which the order being reargued was issued. Rather, plaintiff simply referred to previously e-filed documents in her reargument motion papers. The Court affirmed the denial of plaintiff's motion to reargue noting that "both CPLR 2214 and the court rules governing e-filing required her to submit electronically the papers originally submitted with her motion . . . ." (Id. at 179.) The fact that a case is electronically filed does not alter or usurp the provisions of the CPLR.