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Passenger attacked in viral hair-pulling incident sues Southwest, blaming the airline’s ‘free-for-all’ seating policy

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An “intoxicated” Brooklyn artist arrested on charges she assaulted a fellow passenger aboard a Southwest Airlines plane, pulling the astonished victim’s hair before spitting in her face, is now facing further legal woes stemming from the ugly altercation.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in New York State Supreme Court and obtained first by The Independent, Kansas resident Livia Rombola says Leanna Perry not only injured her physically in the wild incident, but left her emotionally distressed and psychologically traumatized after bystander video of the brawl went viral.

The footage shows Perry, 32, yelling that she doesn’t want to sit next to “a f**king fat lady,” denigrating Rombola as a “fat-ass b***h,” and an “ugly-ass b***h.” The horrifying situation only ended when Perry was zip-tied, placed on a gurney, and hauled off the aircraft by police.

In the aftermath, “repeated exposure” to the footage, along with myriad news articles and online commentary, have caused Rombola acute distress, along with “reputational harm, professional embarrassment, and social stigma,” according to her complaint.

Leanna Perry, seen here in video footage that went viral earlier this summer, is facing a lawsuit, in addition to criminal charges, over an ugly brawl aboard Southwest Airlines

Leanna Perry, seen here in video footage that went viral earlier this summer, is facing a lawsuit, in addition to criminal charges, over an ugly brawl aboard Southwest Airlines (TikTok/@leahkay1010)

The lawsuit also names the low-cost airline as a defendant, blaming its policy of unassigned seating for encouraging the chaos. On Tuesday, Rombola’s attorney, Joel J. Turney, told The Independent, “The plaintiff has a strong case against Southwest, especially with respect to their unusual free-for-all seating policy, which was a substantial factor in the cause of the incident.”

Perry did not respond to multiple requests for comment. A Southwest spokeswoman declined to comment.

Rombola’s complaint argues that open-seating was “a clear departure from the industry standards of other airlines,” and that the system “created a foreseeable hazard of passenger conflict.”

Southwest’s “lack of proactive seat assignment directly contributed to the confrontation,” according to the complaint, saying it benefits only the airline but “expos[es] passengers” to potential issues such as the one between Perry and Rombola.

A Southwest plane on the tarmac