Student sues US Airways for $1 Million – for a lost gaming console

Our gaming buddies over at Joystiq.com are reporting on yet another incident at US Airways. This morning it involved a casket, this afternoon it involves a missing Xbox 360 gaming console.

Normally, when something goes missing in your luggage, you file a claim, and you’ll never hear anything back. But in the case of 21 year old Jesse Maiman, he’s not going to just sit back and relax – he’s suing US Airways for a cool $1 Million.

The console went missing last December on a flight from New Haven to Kentucky. When he picked up his luggage, he noticed how light it was. It was then that he realized his Xbox had been swiped.

According to Maiman, the Xbox had a specialized hard drive and components, and cost over $1000.

In his suit, he’s seeking $1,700 for the loss of his console, and “of at least $25,000, but in the maximum amount allowable by law or, in the alternative, in the sum of $1,000,000.”

That is right – one million Dollars for a lost Xbox.

US Airways was not aware of the lawsuit just yet, but was quick to point out that the law sets a limit on how much an airline will pay for lost luggage, currently that limit is just $3,300 per bag. But get this – the payouts always exclude any liability for electronics.

What I don’t understand is how someone can be stupid enough to put an Xbox console in their bag, but smart enough to get a lawsuit going. Even the most inexperienced flier knows that expensive items don’t go in your checked bag. It is hard to blame someone for the dishonesty of airport workers, but there are just too many cases of theft to expect expensive electronics to make it to your destination.

My guess is that there will be 2 possible outcomes here – US Airways will pay him a nominal fee to make the case go away, or they’ll play along and have him pay their legal fees when he loses. Either way, I don’t think he’ll be seeing his first million any time soon.