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Apr 09
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Spirit Airlines passengers battered in fight sue the carrier for continuing to serve alcohol to assailants, failure to protect them
By Nancy Dillon, New York Daily News, Thursday, April 7, 2016
An in-flight riot over a noisy boom box is causing more turbulence for Spirit Airlines. (March 9, 2016) Three passengers involved in the cabin clash last month sued the carrier Thursday claiming it fueled the flap with copious amounts of alcohol and failed to protect them from injury. The tail-end of the incident was filmed by other passengers, and wild video of women slapping and grabbing each other over seatbacks quickly went viral.
Gloria Allred announced a lawsuit against Spirit Airlines beside her clients, from left, Lisa Zampella, Tykisha Diadato and Danielle Fonda-Thomas, who were all involved in a fight on board the carrier’s plane.
“I am upset that the Spirit Airlines failed to protect us, disregarded our safety, and instead continued to serve the women in front of us alcoholic beverages even though they were clearly intoxicated and behaving aggressively,” passenger and plaintiff Tykisha Diodato said in a statement Thursday.
Diodato and her friends — fellow plaintiffs Lisa Zampella and Danielle Fonda-Thomas — say they were on the March 9 flight from Baltimore to Los Angeles for a long-awaited vacation. They claim three other female passengers seated near them got drunk during the flight, blared music from a blue tooth speaker for hours, sang loudly and stood and danced in the cabin, their lawyer Gloria Allred said at a press conference in New York.
When asked hours into the flight to lower the volume of the music, the rowdy passengers did so for a few minutes but then cranked the volume even higher, Allred said. Shortly before landing, a female flight attendant who allegedly danced to the women’s music earlier in the flight returned and provided them with additional rounds of alcoholic beverages despite their aggressive behavior, the plaintiffs claim.
The tail-end of the incident was filmed by other passengers, and wild video of women slapping and grabbing each other over seatbacks quickly went viral.
Upon touching down at LAX, the drunk women allegedly began shouting offensive and racist remarks and made the first move in the violent scuffle, Allred said. “F–k white people!” they yelled, according to Allred. “What are these f—ing people going to do?” Allred said her clients were “offended by these racial remarks.”
“Ms. Fonda-Thomas politely informed them that their language was inappropriate in front of children. Unprovoked, one of the intoxicated female passengers stood up, turned around, and began to batter and assault Ms. Fonda-Thomas,” Allred said. A second intoxicated passenger also began to attack Fonda-Thomas — and that’s when Diodato and Zampella rushed to her defense and also suffered physical injuries, Allred said. “It was not a mutual combat situation as some have described in prior reports,” Allred said.
“Because there is a lawsuit we are not at liberty to describe the specifics of their injuries,” Allred told the Daily News when asked to elaborate on her client’s alleged physical trauma. She said her clients are seeking compensatory and punitive damages at trial. A Spirit spokesman denied the charges in a statement to The News.
Allred said her clients are seeking compensatory and punitive damages at from the airline at trial.
“The flight had just landed at LAX and the flight attendants were in their jump seats as required by law. When the fight began, our flight attendants immediately moved to break it up. It is not our practice to over-serve alcohol to anyone,” Spirit spokesman Paul Berry said Thursday.
Fonda-Thomas called the experience a “nightmare.” “On that flight we became victims to a very bad situation and negligence of the airline. It was the first time in my life that I felt unsafe on public transportation,” she said.
“The flight attendants failed to take control of the situation before it got to the point where we were physically attacked, humiliated, and escorted off the plane as if we were criminals.” Zampella said the flight crew should have stopped serving the women and ensured a peaceful flight for all passengers. “I fear for anyone who travels with this airline that obviously doesn’t take their passengers’ safety seriously,” she said in a statement.
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Jan 25
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BmoreArt
BmoreArt is dedicated to showcasing and reviewing the visual arts in Baltimore.Thursday, January 21, 2010
Recent Works at the John Fonda Gallery Friday, January 29
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Opening Reception: Friday, January 29, 6-8 p.m.
John Fonda Gallery
45 West Preston Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Located at Theatre Project
Hours: M-F Noon-4 p.m. or by appointment
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Jun 09
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John Fonda Gallery Presents Nicole Shiflet’s Solo Exhibit 6/4-7/12
Thursday, May 28, 2009 by BWW News Desk
John Fonda Gallery Presents Nicole Shiflet's Solo Exhibit
John Fonda Gallery is please to present Nicole Shiflet’s first solo exhibition at the gallery. Titled Marching for Digits, the show consists of new paintings that explore Nicole’s fascination with interstitial moments that she documents into the fictional narratives of her paintings.
“Shiflet’s paintings are wonderfully playful, yet have an underlying sense of danger,” said Sidney Pink, Curator. “The beauty of her line and forms, mixed with a dark subtle humor, create a world deep with layers.”
Shiflet’s paintings use bright color, simple organics forms, and detailed line work to create rich environments. Her work evokes scientific imagery and yet seems to exist inside fantastical landscapes, as if from a children’s book. She plays with the scale of her subject creating a duel sense of micro and macro.
“Much of my work references a variety of scientific phenomena. I am constantly surprised, awed, and inspired by biological growth, geological topography, and electronic circuits. My work may not reflect the logical processes of these studies but forms its own fictional and abstracted narrative,” said Shiflet.
Nicole Shiflet has exhibited through out the Mid-Atlantic region. She has exhibited at the Wohfarth Gallery in Washington D.C.; the Clayton Street Gallery in Athens, Georgia; and had a solo exhibition at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore. In 2005 she worked on a collaborative art project and exhibition between UMBC and Fachhochschule Schwäbisch Hall in Germany. As both a traditional tactile painter and technological art geek, Nicole Shiflet constantly searches for ways to balance both aspects of her work. Drawing, painting, animation, and sound recording all inspire further exploration into and around each other. She is currently an adjunct professor of digital media at University of Maryland Baltimore County and Anne Arundel Community College. Nicole was born in Wisconsin, grew up in Georgia, and currently resides in Baltimore.
Since 1971, Theatre Project has been providing a distinct cultural experience for the citizens of Baltimore by presenting new, innovative, and diverse works in the arts. John Fonda Gallery located at Theatre Project is committed to exhibiting the work of emerging artists and new work by recognized artists. The gallery is dedicated to presenting diverse programs that make contemporary art accessible to a broad audience.
The John Fonda Gallery at Theatre Project was dedicated on January 14, 1993 to the memory of John Fonda, who served as curator of the gallery and nurtured Baltimore arts and artists.