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The Marcheses said they had been engaging in "flirtatious"
conduct in their first class seats while returning home on a
red-eye flight from Los Angeles International Airport, after
three weeks in California filming another reality TV show,
"Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars."
But according to the complaint filed in federal court in Newark,
New Jersey, flight attendant Moriah Rosser, who had recognized
the Marcheses and "commented that she did not like" Jim, told
airport police he had choked and threatened his wife.
The complaint said this statement was "entirely false," and that
Rosser knew it was false or acted with reckless disregard for
its truth.
No charges were filed, but photographers and paparazzi covered
Jim's release from jail, the complaint said.
Virgin America spokesman Dave Arnold said "there is no merit to
this lawsuit," and the Burlingame, California-based carrier will
defend against the claims concerning Rosser.
Jim, 47, and Amber, 39, live in Colts Neck, New Jersey, and have
four children. Their lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for
alleged defamation, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution
and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
"They hope to vindicate their age-old right to be left alone,"
the Marcheses' lawyer Joshua Bauchner said in a telephone
interview.
"When a married couple is on a plane returning to see their
children, false accusations shouldn't be levied against them by
a flight attendant seeking her 15 minutes of fame," he added.
The Marcheses appeared on the sixth season of "Real Housewives,"
which airs on Bravo. In May, they had threatened to sue Virgin
America for $100 million. Bauchner said damages would accrue
until the matter was resolved.
The case is Marchese et al v. Virgin America Inc et al, U.S.
District Court, District of New Jersey, No. 16-07792.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Richard
Chang and David Gregorio)
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