A federal judge has dismissed several charges brought by a California man, Sergey Firsov, who has a history of suing airlines. One of his latest grievances was aimed at Scandinavian Airlines, claiming he was served a vegetarian meal instead of chicken and was limited to just one free drink during his flight.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen pointed out that Firsov appeared to have a pattern of using the legal system to avoid legal fees, seek damages for emotional distress, and recover the costs of international flights. He noted that Firsov “caused unnecessary expense” for airlines and added to the workload of federal courts.
This ruling originated from a lawsuit in which Firsov said he was given a vegetarian option on a flight when he had wanted chicken. He also mentioned that the air conditioning malfunctioned on another flight, leading to discomfort for both him and his dog.
In his complaint, Firsov stated that the flight attendants had announced a menu choice of chicken or vegetarian pasta, but once they reached row 40, the chicken was no longer available. He alleged that a flight attendant told him the chicken portions were too small, forcing him to choose the vegetarian meal.
He even claimed to have seen a crew member enjoying a chicken meal in the galley, and when he asked for food, the attendants supposedly refused, stating it was reserved for “internal use.”
Additionally, he expressed concern about why insufficient chicken meals were loaded onto the flight if there were still some left on the plane.
Judge Chen dismissed Firsov’s lawsuit in January, explaining that the court didn’t have jurisdiction over parts of the case and that Firsov did not demonstrate physical injury as required for meal-related claims under the Montreal Convention.
However, the judge emphasized that this lawsuit was part of a larger pattern, with Firsov having filed 30 lawsuits in the Northern District of California since March 2025, most targeting airlines. Most of these cases were thrown out due to issues like lack of jurisdiction or failure to properly serve the defendant.
It’s worth noting that Firsov had already been designated as a vexatious litigant by the Santa Clara Superior Court back in 2020.
In the Scandinavian Airlines case, the judge acknowledged that Firsov had acted in bad faith and slapped him with a $722 penalty, which remained unpaid. Consequently, the airline sought civil contempt charges against him.
The judge also criticized some of Firsov’s other claims against airlines for being frivolous, such as alleging that Austrian Airlines mistreated him by not allowing his dog to use the restroom on board and demanding reimbursement for emergency clothing after his baggage was delayed.
On another occasion, Firsov argued that he was unfairly served a vegetarian meal simply because he is a man who “needs to eat meat,” which the judge noted in his comments.
Overall, Judge Chen expressed concern over the unnecessary burdens Firsov’s lawsuits placed on airlines and the judicial system. Although Scandinavian Airlines requested a complete ban on Firsov’s future lawsuits, the judge instead tailored the order to address only future actions specifically against the airline.
The newspaper has reached out to both Firsov and Scandinavian Airlines for their comments.
