A lawsuit against Alaska Airlines alleges flight attendants overserved a man, even though he was "belligerently drunk," who went on to allegedly sexually assault another passenger. The lawsuit was announced by Mark Lindquist Law on Thursday. The initial incident took place in May of 2023. The alleged victim was on an Alaska Airlines flight out of SEA Airport, bound for Honolulu, Hawaii, with her book club. The man, who is named as a defendant in the lawsuit, was seated across the aisle from her. When the defendant initially boarded the flight, he appeared sober but became "clearly and belligerently intoxicated" as he drank red wine, according to the suit. Flight attendants "constantly refill(ed)" his glass throughout the flight, the suit alleges. The suit claims the defendant was inappropriate with the woman multiple times throughout the flight. He tried to initiate a conversation with the woman, and at one point, allegedly grabbed her hand and forcibly kissed it before the woman could pull away. At one point, the defendant appeared to pass out, but upon waking up asked for and was served more alcohol, despite his "obvious intoxication." The woman attempted to ignore the defendant, and at one point covered her eyes and attempted to rest. At that point, the defendant forcibly grabbed the woman's breast and groped her, according to the lawsuit. Law enforcement met the defendant as he exited the plane. According to a report from a sheriff's deputy, the defendant had to grab the wall as he walked down the jet bridge, had glassy eyes and slurred speech.<br/>
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Russian state-owned lender Sberbank on Thursday said it disagreed with a U.S. court's decision to reject the bank's right to sovereign immunity in a case brought by the family of a victim of the 2014 MH17 airline disaster. Sberbank said it would continue to fight the case. The U.S. court ruled on Tuesday that the family of American Quinn Schansman, who was killed when a Malaysian Airlines plane was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, can sue Russia's largest bank for allegedly providing money transfers to a group blamed for downing the plane. "We have studied the judgement in our appeal, which took the U.S. Court of Appeals more than 14 months to issue," Sberbank said. "Sberbank does not agree with it and will continue to defend its interests in this case." In a 3-0 decision, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Sberbank was not entitled to sovereign immunity, after being accused of using the U.S. banking system to funnel donor money to the Russia-backed separatist group Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). Schansman was 18 when he boarded the flight to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam on July 17, 2014, for a planned family vacation. The plane was shot down over DPR-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile, killing all 298 people on board.<br/>