Chowdhury
Chowdhury v. Northwest Airlines Corp.
Opinion
Opinion
Breyer, J.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This lawsuit arises out of an incident at San Francisco International Airport approximately one month after September 11, 2001. The gravamen of plaintiffs complaint is that he was denied boarding on a Northwest Airlines (“Northwest”) flight even after Northwest, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and airport security had determined that he did not pose a security risk. Plaintiff, who is a United States citizen of Bangladeshi ancestry, makes claims under state and federal anti-discrimination laws. Defendants move to dismiss on the grounds that plaintiffs state law claims are preempted by federal aviation law and his federal civil rights claims conflict with such law.
DISCUSSION
A. The Federal Law Claims
Plaintiff makes claims under 42 U.S.C. section 1981 and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. section 2000d. Defendants contend these statutes conflict with certain airline regulations, namely, 49 U.S.C. section 44902 (b) and 14 C.F.R. section 91.3(a), 121.533(e). Section 44902(b) provides that an “air carrier, intrastate air carrier, or foreign air carrier may refuse to transport a passenger or property the carrier decides is, or might be,…