On June 22, 2022, Partner David Rutherford obtained summary judgment in favor of American Airlines in federal court in the Eastern District of New York in a case alleging that an elderly passenger suffered a broken leg when she tripped and fell over a metal fixture related to the emergency chute on the door as she was exiting the aircraft. The Court agreed there was no defect in the aircraft and dismissed the plaintiff’s theory that the airline was negligent in not helping the plaintiff off the aircraft and onto the jetway where a wheelchair was waiting.