Southwest Airlines not liable in suit over attendant’s rhyme

? A jury on Wednesday determined that Southwest Airlines was not liable for a flight attendant’s comments that two black female passengers said left them feeling humiliated and degraded.

Louise Sawyer and Grace Fuller, sisters from suburban Kansas City, were heading home from a Las Vegas vacation when the incident took place three years ago next month. As passengers were boarding the plane and looking for seats, flight attendant Jennifer Cundiff made the following comment over the intercom: “Eenie, meenie, minie moe; pick a seat, we gotta go.”

Sawyer, who lives in Merriam, Kan., and Fuller, who lives in Lenexa, Kan., contended that the attendant’s remark struck them as a reference to a well-known racist version of the rhyme, in which the first line is followed by these words: “Catch a n—-r by the toe.”

The sisters filed a lawsuit against the airline in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., claiming they were discriminated against and suffered physical and emotional distress. Judge Kathryn H. Vratil ruled last year that the case could proceed to trial, and it began on Tuesday before an eight-member jury.

The jury returned its verdict in favor of the airline Wednesday evening.

Scott A. Wissel, a Kansas City lawyer representing the two women, said in his opening statement that they were humiliated and degraded when Cundiff used the phrase, and decided to sue out of frustration after Southwest Airlines would not take their complaint seriously.

Cundiff, who lives in Argyle, Texas, testified that she had used the rhyme before on other flights. She said Southwest Airlines encourages employees to use humor to help make flights more fun and memorable.

She testified that she was confused why someone would complain about the rhyme. It was not until she showed her mother letters written by Sawyer and Fuller that she learned about the racist version, Cundiff said.