[Heathernicoleb]

Continental Airlines recently lost a bag of mine filled with irreplaceable possessions. This bag was a carry-on bag –not a checked bag, a carry-on –and was moved without my knowledge or permission from the overhead bin. No one has seen the bag since.

This took place on my way to Rhode Island to attend the graduation ceremonies for members of the Initiative to Educate Afghan Women. The First Lady, Mrs. Bush, was scheduled to be there and so, due to the nature of the events, I had packed some good clothes and jewelry and decided to take everything in one carry-on. A flight attendant helped me*place my suitcase in the overhead bin a few rows away from my seat
as the bin above me was taken.

After the plane was taxiing down the runway, I was informed that the Continental staff had moved my bag -- supposedly to the lower storage area of the plane. In order to find out whose bag it was, the Continental staff had gone into my suitcase and, from my purse, they*got my return ticket and my name! Yet they did not have enough sense to at least give me my purse or to see if I needed anything (such as my medication) or wanted
anything (such as my jewelry) from the bag. Although they knew from my ticket that I had a connecting flight in New Jersey, they still didn't gate check my bag, which would have allowed me to retrieve it upon exiting the plane at Newark to make my connection to Providence. Instead, they told me that they had checked it all the way through to Providence and handed me a handwritten number. Unsurprisingly, the bag vanished, along with my jewelry.
*
This is the most bizarre action I've ever known an airline to take with respect to a passenger's carry-on luggage, and may well be the most egregious case of airline carelessness you have heard.

Still, it doesn't stop here. Now Continental is claiming no responsibility and has retained Fulbright and Jaworski to fight me. They asked for receipts of all items over $100, which I told them I did not have, so –per their request and suggestion -- *I supplied them with credit card statements and personal letters from the store managers who have records of my purchases. I believed that Continental had agreed to honor this information, but absolutely nothing came of it.
*
They took entirely unnecessary, unapproved, unilateral action over which I had no control and which directly resulted in the loss of my property. *There was nothing I could have done to have prevent this, and now they choose to pay exorbitant legal fees rather than compensate me for the loss they caused.

This is a serious matter that seems to mean nothing to them.

[jimworcs]

This is outrageous.. and I hope you will continue the legal fight. There is a fundamental principle at stake here. You took all reasonable precautions to ensure that you did not check in valuables and that the bag with these essential items remained with you at all times. This is in accordance with their advice. Do not put valuables in checked in luggage nor medications. The airline took control away from you, without your consent, and failed to meet their legal obligation to protect your property. I would say that in these unique circumstances you would have a very good chance of winning eventually. You should also try to get some TV publicity for this.... there is nothing you could have done and Continental have been unreasonable.

[PHXFlyer]

What was the dollar amount you are claiming that was lost? It is very unusual for any airline to get an attorney involved unless you threatened to sue them first. Did you try to initiate a claim with your homeowners insurance first? Believe it or not they sometimes cover losses such as items stolen from your car while parked or valuables taken from your bags while traveling. You should also check with the issuer of the credit card with which you purchased the tickets. Sometimes there is an automatic but often limited travel insurance policy that you might be able to make a claim against.

Why do I get the feeling that once again we're only getting part of the story here? Incidentally, Ms. Heathernicoleb, neither Mrs. Bush is the first lady any longer.

[PHXFlyer]

Did some online research. Google is our friend! The graduation ceremony the OP attended was in May of 2006 so despite what was posted this alleged incident is not recent. She has posted the exact same story, verbatim, to several websites/blogs. Furthermore searches for Fulbright and Jaworski + Continental Airlines found nothing recent either. The firm does have a presence in Houston however the only hits other than the OP's recent and numerous posts were the fact that Fulbright and Jaworski were among the firms who represented Continental in their bankruptcy case back in 1991-1993.

I still feel we're not getting the whole story here.

[jimworcs]

I am not sure your research has taken us any further forward. It seems to corroborate her story... (ie, legal firm that is known to have dealings with Continental, same posting elsewhere, etc). The posting may simply reflect the frustration of the OP with the legal battle dragging out.

It sounds to me like this is a very high value claim and is being fought vigorously. Whether Continental believe the OP had items to the value she claims, they would never have been in that situation had they not been so negligent. The handling of this sounds OUTRAGEOUS ( as Judge Judy might say).

[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by jimworcs

I am not sure your research has taken us any further forward. It seems to corroborate her story... (ie, legal firm that is known to have dealings with Continental, same posting elsewhere, etc). The posting may simply reflect the frustration of the OP with the legal battle dragging out.

It sounds to me like this is a very high value claim and is being fought vigorously. Whether Continental believe the OP had items to the value she claims, they would never have been in that situation had they not been so negligent. The handling of this sounds OUTRAGEOUS ( as Judge Judy might say).

My point about the law firm, Jim, is that if there had been cases in which they represented Continental since there would be records which would show up during internet searches. No such records seem to exist. Furhtermore the OPs post begins "Continental Airlines recently lost a bag of mine..." in every post I found yet all of those posts to the various blogs, forums and websites were all posted within the last couple of days. I don't know about you but I don't consider an incident which occurred nearly 3 1/2 years ago recent. Additionally she closes with the statement, "This is a serious matter that seems to mean nothing to them." If it means nothing to them why have they allegedly retained the services of an attorney? Besides, Continental has their own legal staff that would handle something like this were it to go to litigation. Something just isn't right about this one.