In Eldeeb v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 2018 WL 6435739,
the District Court of Minnesota recently granted a motion to
dismiss (on the basis of forum non conveniens) an action
brought pursuant to the Montreal Convention. Forum non
conveniens is a legal doctrine by which a court may decline to
hear a case where another court is more suitable or
appropriate.
Mr. Eldeeb (who suffered from pancreatic cancer) was travelling
home from Minnesota to Egypt, with a layover in Paris,
France. At the time he booked his itinerary, he requested a
wheelchair to assist him with disembarking the aircraft in
Paris.
Upon arrival of his Air France flight from Minneapolis to
Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, Mr. Eldeeb was initially denied
use of a wheelchair. He was eventually provided wheelchair
assistance to disembark the aircraft but was left in the seating
area of the arrival gate rather than being brought to the gate for
his connecting flight to Egypt. He sat in the waiting
