THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 17, 1995 TAG: 9506170381
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder has filed a lawsuit against the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, a security firm, an airline and a former security guard over an alleged assault in March.
In the lawsuit, filed Thursday in Richmond Circuit Court, Wilder claims he was assaulted March 7 by a guard at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after his suspender clips set off a metal detector as he prepared to board a USAir flight for Richmond.
Wilder was in Northern Virginia on Thursday night, rehearsing for the televised version of his radio talk show.
Telephone messages left at his home and office by The Associated Press were not returned.
Officials with Globe Security Systems in Irving, Texas, also did not return messages.
Airport Director John Brantley said the airport has received copies of the lawsuit, naming the authority, Arlington-based USAir, Globe Security, and the former security checkpoint attendant as defendants.
The guard was fired the day of the incident.
``There are a number of allegations,'' Brantley said. Among them: ``Assault and battery, false imprisonment and negligence.''
He said Wilder is seeking $3 million in compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages.
Wilder has said the fracas was sparked by the guard's surly manner.
``I went to look at the guard's name, because his tone and his manner alone were worthy of being reported,'' Wilder said later that day. ``He grabbed me and said, `I just don't like you' and shoved me up against the wall and started choking me.''
Brantley said the airport should not be a defendant.
According to federal aviation regulations, he said, the screening of passengers before boarding is the responsibility of the airlines, not the airport.
Brantley said the airport authority had not discussed the suit with USAir or Globe Security, but that he thought they probably would try to have the suit moved to a North Carolina court.
Brantley said the suit was filed on Wilder's behalf by his son, Richmond lawyer Lawrence D. Wilder Jr.
USAir spokesman Paul Turk said he was not aware of the lawsuit and declined to comment.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT by CNB