Constipated Man Sues United Airlines Over Bathroom Fiasco

United Airlines is being sued by two passengers over an incident that occurred on a flight several weeks back, as reported by Live and Let’s Fly. I’m not sure what to make of this, because the claims are pretty wild.

United accused of anti-Semitism in constipation debacle

This incident happened on January 28, 2025, on United flight UA1601, the 829-mile journey from Tulum (TQO) to Houston (IAH).

The two plaintiffs are Yisroel Liebb and Jacob Sebbag, and they claim that the occurrences of that flight have caused them to “undergo significant unwarranted delay in their travel plans, physical injuries, great discomfort, extreme emotional distress, public embarrassment, and anxiety associated with publicly wearing their religious garb,” plus one of the plaintiffs feels “sexually violated and embarrassed after having been publicly exposed in the nude.”

Wait, how on earth did all of this happen during an inflight incident?! Let’s cover the basics, according to the plaintiffs:

• Soon after takeoff, Liebb went to the lavatory at the back of the aircraft
• Around 20 minutes later, one of the flight attendants woke up Sebbag, his travel companion who was at his seat (next to him), and asked him if everything was okay with Liebb
• Sebbag went to the back of the plane and asked Liebb through the lavatory door if everything was okay; he said everything was fine, but he was constipated, and needed some more time
• About 10 minutes later, Sebbag was reportedly approached by a pilot, and asked to approach the lavatory once again, and get Liebb to exit the lavatory
• The pilot began yelling loudly at Liebb, demanding he leave the bathroom immediately; Liebb responded by saying he was just finishing up, and would be out momentarily
• The pilot “became visibly enraged, broke the lock on the door and forced the door to the bathroom open, pulling Liebb out of the bathroom with his pants still around his ankles, exposing his genitalia to Sebbag, several flight attendants, and the nearby passengers on the plane”
• With Sebbag leading Liebb, the pilot proceeded to repeatedly push the plaintiffs back to their seats, while making threats of getting the plaintiffs arrested, and making “scathing remarks about their Judaism, and how ‘Jews act'”
• Upon landing in Houston, five to seven agents from Customs and Border Protection (CBP) boarded the aircraft, approached Liebb, pulled him from his seat with his arms behind his back, cuffed him, and began escorting him to the front of the plane
• Sebbag was asked if he knew Liebb, and when he said that he did, he was also escorted off the plane, and later handcuffed
• While being escorted off the plane, Liebb stated he had a legal right to know why they were being detained, and the officer responded by saying “this isn’t county or state, we are homeland, you have no rights here,” and then further tightened his handcuffs

Liebb claims to have suffered injuries to his head and legs from being forcefully pulled into the bathroom door frame, as he was being ejected from the bathroom. He also claims to have had severe wrist pain from being handcuffed too tightly.

The lawsuit also states that the injuries were further worsened by the anti-Semitic remarks. It’s also mentioned how Sebbag was only associated with this because they were both “obviously Jewish, having been dressed in their traditional Jewish garb.”

My take on this strange United lavatory incident

Airlines get sued all the time, though this has to be one of the most bizarre airline lawsuits we’ve seen in a long while.

To start, let me state that if there was in fact commentary from a United employee about how “Jews act,” that’s completely unacceptable, and that person should be reprimanded (to be clear, that commentary isn’t appropriate from anyone, but this is a lawsuit targeted at a company, while individual speech can’t be restricted in the same way).

Furthermore, if facts are as presented, it’s absurd that the friend was taken off the plane and ultimately handcuffed, because I don’t see what he supposedly did wrong. That does indeed seem anti-Semitic, since he was basically being punished by association (not unlike that Lufthansa incident a while back).

All that being said, to what extent did the crew cross the line in terms of trying to get the passenger out of the lavatory? While airlines don’t have any formal restrictions on the amount of time for which you can use a lavatory, crew members are supposed to be vigilant and address any suspicious activity. I think it’s safe to say that spending 30+ minutes in a lavatory is a little suspicious, especially when you’re told to leave, and then don’t comply.

Passengers are supposed to comply with crew member instructions, though admittedly that’s for things related to safety. That’s to say that if a flight attendant tells you to do a handstand, you don’t have to cooperate. However, I think it could reasonably be concluded that they had a legitimate reason to have a safety concern.

If you’re warned after 20 minutes that you need to get out of the bathroom ASAP, and if you then take another 10 minutes, and then still don’t leave when you’re told to, then I think it’s safe to say you’re not cooperating with the crew.

Purely from a practical perspective, it also seems like the constipation angle of this could’ve been handled differently. Isn’t constipation characterized by the lack of ability to use the bathroom? Like, if anything, the inverse of constipation would be a more legitimate reason to spend that much time in the lavatory, no? Go back to your seat, have a cup of coffee, and try again a few minutes later, and it seems like that could’ve avoided all of this…

Now, just a couple more observations:

• I know there’s a claim that a pilot “broke the lock on the door,” but keep in mind there’s nothing to break; airplane lavatories open from both sides, and there’s a simple latch that just needs to be slid over
• I’m curious about the claim of a pilot being involved here; I can’t imagine one of the two on duty pilots would go to the back of the aircraft inflight on a US carrier, so was this an off-duty pilot, a flight attendant who was mistaken for a pilot, or what?

As far as the CBP’s behavior goes, I mean, I can’t say I’m surprised. They’re often kind of thug-like, and I don’t think there’s anything new there.

Bottom line

A man is suing United Airlines after a flight that he took several weeks back, while constipated. Long story short, he spent 30 or more minutes in the lavatory, and despite repeated requests to leave, he continued to say he needed more time. He was eventually dragged out of the bathroom. Upon landing, CBP was called, and took him off the plane.

If any anti-Semitic remarks were made, that’s of course completely unacceptable. That being said, it doesn’t seem unreasonable for the crew to have concerns if someone spends so much in the lavatory, and isn’t willing to leave.

What do you make of this United lavatory incident?