Fate of couple who sued Airline after passengers complained they smell unveiled

15 September 2023 , 16:58

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The suit filed by American Airlines passengers who were told they had an 'offensive body odour' has been dismissed

A couple sued American Airlines in 2020 after having been kicked off of a plane because of their allegedly wretched body odour. But what happened to that case?

It has been dismissed, court documents reveal — and it was done so with prejudice, meaning plaintiffs Yehuda Yosef Adler and his wife Jennie will not be able to refile it and pursue the same legal action against the airline.

The document states that "the dismissal of this case with prejudice" is "subject to reopening if the settlement is not concluded" and further states that all parties must pay their own legal and attorney fees.

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The Adlers told authorities that they had, in fact, bathed before coming to the airport for their flight (Local10)

Sixty days after the case was officially dismissed on April 10, 2020, however, no further action was taken. The case effectively closed, and the parties went their separate ways.

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Back in January 2019, the Adlers, along with their 19-month-old daughter, were kicked off an American Airlines flight from Miami to Detroit after passengers allegedly complained about their stench.

"All of a sudden, as soon as they took us off, they closed the gate and then they said, 'Sorry, sir, some people complained you had body odour and we're not letting you back on,'" Yosef told WPLG Local 10 News at the time.

The Adlers, who are from Detroit, filed a lawsuit against American Airlines alleging discrimination

They were told their luggage would be removed from the plane, but that never happened, and they were left stranded at the Miami International Airport while they dealt with the airline. Their stroller and other bags — supplies for their young daughter — were left on the plane.

The Adlers were given a hotel room and meal vouchers that night, then booked on another flight the following day, but for around 24 hours, they had only the clothes on their backs.

In the terminal, they told the outlet that they stopped passersby and asked them directly if they smelled. They also asked airline employees, but nobody would give them a straight answer.

Yosef Adler was angry after being kicked off the plane, especially after he and his wife Jennie didn't get their belongings back (Local10)

On January 28 that year, the Adlers filed a civil suit against American Airlines "for discrimination that relates to the Adlers' race, religion, ancestry, country of origin, and ethnic characteristics, for denial of freedom and equality, for embarrassment, humiliation, for disparaging treatment, for defamation, for negligence and for intentional infliction of emotional distress."

The Adlers are Orthodox Jews, and Yosef believes that's the real reason they were kicked off the plane — not because of their alleged body odour, which he said didn't exist. Jennie told WPLG Local News 10 that they had bathed earlier in the day before their flight.

A video released after the incident depicts the heated father going off about the airline employees, stating: "There's a religious reason for some reason that they're kicking me off the plane. We don't have odour, OK? Nobody here has odour."

In a statement from American Airlines, however, the company argued that it had not made its decision to deplane the Adlers because of their religion.

Jeremiah Hassel