American, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United Fail to Secure Total Dismissal in One of the Last Remaining Mask Mandate Lawsuits — Judge Allows Key Claims to Move Forward
In a time when government mandates have dramatically impacted daily life, one man stood up for his constitutional rights.
Michael Faris, a helicopter maintenance supervisor and owner of Prime Hawx, frequently flew across the country to support critical wildfire suppression efforts.
Despite his essential work, Faris found himself entangled in the CDC’s mask mandate, a regulation he could not comply with due to a documented anxiety disorder.
The Gateway Pundit reported in 2021 that Faris was placed on the Terrorist Watch List by TSA and subjected to harassment during flights after he filed a lawsuit against them challenging the mask mandate.
“TSA’s action placing Mr. Faris … on its terrorist watchlist for filing this lawsuit challenging the FTMM represents the absolute worst form of vengeance against citizens exercising our First Amendment right to petition the government for a redress of grievances,” according to the court filing. “Suing TSA does not constitute a threat of terrorism nor any other risk to transportation security that warrants placement on the watchlist.”
According to View from the Wing:
Michael Faris, a helicopter maintenance supervisor, is trying to fly home today to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, from a work assignment near Ontario, California. When he tried to check in on the United Airlines mobile app, he received a message that his “reservation requires special handling. Please check in at an airport kiosk.”
When he used a United kiosk at Ontario airport, it displayed a message to “Please collect the printed document and see a United representative for further assistance.”It took United agents a long time on the phone to check Faris in, during which a TSA officer responded to the counter. He was then escorted to the security checkpoint, where she showed his mask-exemption letter from his physician. TSA officer Steven Pointer and supervisor Ramona Baker reluctantly allowed Faris into the screening area without a face covering.
TSA then put him through a lengthy process known as “Secondary Security Screening Selectee,” noted on his boarding pass by the code “SSSS.” During the extended search, he was patted down for more than five minutes and every item was removed from his carry-on bag. TSA officers even swabbed inside his wallet.
The lawsuit, filed in 2022, names the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and several major airlines—American, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United—along with their employees for allegedly violating his rights under both federal and state law.
Faris, who travels frequently for wildfire suppression and electric-line construction, claims that the mask mandates, forced by the airlines under the direction of federal health agencies, were unconstitutional and amounted to a direct violation of his civil liberties.
Faris, representing himself, alleges that wearing a mask during air travel exacerbated his generalized anxiety disorder.
“As a result, wearing a face mask during air travel causes Faris to experience nausea, light-headedness, headaches, eye irritation, dizziness, dehydration, and fainting,” according to the court document reviewed by The Gateway Pundit.
“While the mandate was in effect, and after the airlines allegedly stopped granting “mask exemptions,” Faris nevertheless took 26 flights on American, 23 on United, and 1 on Spirit. He also booked 2 flights with Southwest and another with JetBlue. The Airline Defendants, he says, harmed him by denying his mask exemption requests, forcing him to wear a mask, requiring him to explain sensitive health concerns in public spaces, and generally discriminating against him based on his disability.”
Faris claims that this discrimination based on his disability violated both federal and California state law, specifically the Rehabilitation Act and the Unruh Civil Rights Act.
In a prior ruling, the court had already dismissed Faris’s claims against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services, citing mootness as the mask mandate was no longer in effect and after a federal court in Florida ruled that the CDC’s mask mandate violated the Administrative Procedure Act.
Even after the CDC’s mask mandate was deemed illegal, Faris continued to seek permanent protection from any future mandates unless explicitly authorized by Congress.
“Faris argues, however, that his request for “a permanent injunction that Defendants CDC and HHS shall not issue any other orders requiring any person wear a face mask unless such specific authority is enacted into law by Congress” isn’t moot. According to Faris, he seeks a “permanent injunction,” rather than “vacatur,” so his case is still live because it “would ensure a future [mask mandate] can’t be enforced against me,” according to the court ruling.
However, Faris’s claims for damages against the airlines—focused on retrospective harm—remain active.
The American, JetBlue, Southwest, Spirit, and United Airlines filed motions to dismiss all of Faris’s claims against them.
United, American, and JetBlue challenged the court’s jurisdiction over them, but the judge ruled that all defendants were indeed subject to personal jurisdiction.
Additionally, while the court dismissed many of Faris’s claims—including conspiracy allegations and constitutional challenges—it allowed claims under the Rehabilitation Act and California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act to proceed, as these allegations were deemed neither factually implausible nor legally impossible.
According to District Judge Benjamin Beaton, “the Airline Defendants are all subject to personal jurisdiction and haven’t shown that Faris’s Rehabilitation Act and Unruh Act claims are factually implausible or legally impossible. So those claims, along with Faris’s claims for equitable relief, survive this motion.”
The Rehabilitation Act, which applies to organizations receiving federal financial assistance, was deemed relevant due to the airlines’ receipt of COVID-19 relief funding.
Similarly, Faris’s Unruh Act claims, which prohibit disability discrimination within California, will also move forward after the judge found sufficient connection between Faris’s allegations and the airline defendants’ operations in the state.
In an exclusive statement to The Gateway Pundit, Faris said:
“After 2 years of battling, it appears a judge with common sense has emerged, not biased against pro se litigants. Congress created the ACAA to shield airlines from litigation, which is what makes holding them accountable, very challenging.
The DOT is agency charged with enforcing the ACAA, but after more than 13 complaints, a request to Rand Paul to push them to answer to their illegal atrocities, and the fact that now we sit 2 years later without any answers from the DOT, tells me that they believe that can do what they want, without regard for accountability.
Finding counsel for a case like this was extremely challenging, so I joined a coalition of Americans against mask mandates, individually filing lawsuits nationwide. Most cases were dismissed, but progress is evident now, it’s a significant milestone.
The Gateway Pundit actually highlighted my case against the TSA, when they put me on the quad S list, two days after suing them in the sixth circuit court of appeals.
Judge Beaton’s serious handling of the complaint is commendable, unlike other judge who handed down complete dismissals, mainly because “they are the airlines, they can do what they want”.
To those still fighting for freedom and to be left the hell alone, I say, keep pushing – a few right and integrous moves can start to dismantle the wrongs imposed on Americans during their scam pandemic.”
You can read the ruling here.
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