A Miami plaintiff alleges she was mistreated on an American Airlines flight for bringing her emotional support dog Simba into business class. A Miami plaintiff alleges she was mistreated on an American Airlines flight after bringing her emotional support dog Simba into business class. Photo from court documents.

A lawsuit in the Southern District of Florida alleges an American Airlines flight attendant mistreated a pregnant passenger who tried to bring an emotional support service dog aboard the business-class section of a flight from Miami to Los Angeles in April 2019.

Miami resident Avigail Diveroli suffers from severe anxiety, according to the complaint, which claims she included her dog Simba in her reservation, and twice called the airline to check that the dog could fly in business class.

But when one flight attendant noticed the dog, which was in a kennel, the lawsuit claims she shouted at Diveroli, telling her it was a Federal Aviation Administration violation. The attendant allegedly kept shouting at the plaintiff and her husband before downgrading their seats mid-flight and threatening Diveroli with arrest.

During the last hour of the flight, the attendant said Simba had to be locked in a bathroom for the last hour of the flight, according to the lawsuit, which said Diveroli agreed but was horrified when the attendant “started slamming the dog, in its kennel, with the door to the bathroom.”

American Airlines declined to comment on the case. According to its website, fully trained service animals and emotion-support or psychiatric service animals are allowed to fly in cabins for free if they meet certain requirements, including being clean, well-behaved and below a certain size.

The complaint claims police escorted Diveroli off the plane, though other AA staff had apologized and told her the flight attendant was a “sour apple” about animals onboard.

Boca Raton solo practitioner Andre G. Raikhelson and Washington, D.C., attorney Yvette J. Harrell of Legal Justice Advocates filed the suit in the Southern District of Florida, but declined to comment on the case.

The lawsuit accuses American Airlines of ignoring the plaintiff’s mental anguish and violated “every standard of decency.” It seeks damages, interest and cost for negligence and breach of contract.

Read the complaint:

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