Now they are, now they aren’t. It hardly matters at this point if they end up not suing the passengers: their threat to do so has gotten so much publicity that the chilling effect on reporting suspicious behavior will set in anyway. But according to this, they are backing down because of the new immunity provision, as flawed as it is. From KSTP.com (thanks to all who sent this in):
Six imams removed from a U.S. Airways plane said they would not sue the passengers whose concerns led them to being kicked off a flight in November.
In federal court Tuesday, the attorney for the imams said, “We don’t contemplate naming any private passenger as a defendant.”
After being removed from their flight, the imams sued the airport, the airline and ‘John Does,’ which left open the possibility of suing anonymous passengers.
The attorney for one of the passengers says the imams’ offer comes only as congress is about to give immunity to those reporting suspicious behavior.
“The offer is only made after congress passes the immunity provision with the threat of assessing fees and costs against parties suing those making reports in good faith,” Gerry Nolting said.