American Airlines cleared in bias lawsuit

By ED WHITE Associated Press Writer
1:22 p.m. September 3, 2009

DETROIT — A judge in Detroit has ruled in favor of American Airlines in a lawsuit by five men of Iraqi descent who claimed their nationality caused a captain to cancel a flight to Chicago.

U.S. District Judge Paul Borman said Thursday the decision to return to the gate in San Diego was not "arbitrary and capricious" … a key legal standard in the case.

The Detroit-area men were flying to Chicago in August 2007 after training U.S. Marines in California about Iraqi culture.

A woman who was uncomfortable got off the flight. Flight attendants said one of the men had a blanket over his head and glared at a crew member.

A lawyer for the men, Lawrence Garcia, says there would have been no suspicion if they were white or black.

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