US judge slaps down litigious California man who – Business News
A federal judge has declared a California man who filed dozens of lawsuits in opposition to airways a vexatious litigant after one of his newest complaints accused Scandinavian Airlines of serving him a vegetarian meal as an alternative of chicken and limiting him to a single complimentary drink.
US District Judge Edward Chen stated Sergey Firsov’s obvious “business model” was to hunt waivers of court docket submitting charges, pursue emotional-distress damages and attempt to get better the associated fee of worldwide airline tickets, including that the serial litigant had “caused needless expense” for airways and burdened federal courts.
The order stems from Firsov’s lawsuit in opposition to Scandinavian Airlines, through which he alleged he was served a vegetarian meal as an alternative of chicken during one flight and that a damaged air-conditioning system on one other flight made the cabin so dry it injured each him and his canines.
A federal judge declared a California man a vexatious litigant after he sued Scandinavian Airlines over being served a vegetarian meal as an alternative of chicken during an worldwide flight.
According to Firsov’s grievance, flight attendants introduced that passengers might select between chicken and vegetarian pasta, however by the time meal service reached in regards to the fortieth row, the chicken had run out.
Firsov alleged he and passengers seated farther back have been pressured to take the vegetarian option after crew members stated too few chicken meals had been loaded.
Firsov claimed he later walked to the rear galley and noticed flight attendants eating chicken meals. When he requested for one, crew members allegedly refused, saying the meals have been reserved for “internal use.”
He additionally alleged a flight attendant advised him the airline had mistakenly loaded too few chicken entrees, whereas he questioned why unused chicken meals remained within the back of the plane.
Chen dismissed the case in January, discovering the court docket lacked personal jurisdiction over half of the dispute and that Firsov didn’t allege the bodily damage required beneath the Montreal Convention for his meal-related declare.
But the judge stated the lawsuit — one of 27 filed by Firsov in opposition to airways within the final two years — was just one instance of a a lot broader sample.
Scandinavian Airlines was one of roughly two dozen airways sued by California resident Sergey Firsov in a wave of federal lawsuits. Travers – stock.adobe.com
“There is no indication that Mr. Firsov is making decisions based on the particulars of any case but rather is taking a scorched earth approach,” Chen wrote in a June 23 ruling declaring the Mountain View, Calif. resident a vexatious litigant.
According to the order, Firsov filed 30 lawsuits within the Northern District of California between March 2025 and June of this 12 months, with all however three focusing on no less than one airline.
Most have been dismissed for causes together with lack of jurisdiction, failure to state a declare, failure to correctly serve defendants or failure to pay submitting charges.
The court docket famous Firsov had already been declared a vexatious litigant by Santa Clara Superior Court in 2020.
Earlier within the Scandinavian Airlines case, Chen sanctioned Firsov $722 after discovering he filed a movement to strike in dangerous religion. The airline later sought to carry him in civil contempt after the sanctions award remained unpaid.
The judge additionally highlighted what he described as frivolous positions Firsov had taken in different airline instances, together with alleging Austrian Airlines acted improperly by stopping him from taking his canine into an airplane toilet, in search of roughly $1,100 for emergency clothes after delayed baggage, and claiming he spent $10,000 on a personal jet to make a assembly after a delayed business flight.
Firsov claimed passengers within the rear of the cabin have been advised chicken meals had run out earlier than he later alleged he noticed crew members eating chicken within the rear galley. Kristina Blokhin – stock.adobe.com
In one other case, Chen famous, Firsov argued an airline wronged him by serving a vegetarian meal as a result of “he is a man and needs to eat meat.”
“Mr. Firsov has caused needless expense to the airlines he has sued and imposed an unnecessary burden on the undersigned and other judges in this District,” the judge wrote.
The judge declined Scandinavian Airlines’ request for a sweeping submitting ban, as an alternative narrowly tailoring the order to future lawsuits in opposition to airways.
The Post has sought remark from Firsov and Scandinavian Airlines.
