It appears this bird flew a bit too close to the sun and may have to pay for it if allegations in a new lawsuit prove to be true.
An explosive lawsuit claims that Arthur Blank, owner of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, hired a woman half his age to work aboard his private jet while the pair were “in a romantic relationship” and then allegedly forced two other flight attendants to work unpaid overtime to cover for his unqualified mate.
Blank, who co-founded Home Depot before buying the team for $545 million US in 2002, is being sued by Adele Pearson and Samantha Carlisle, who are corporate flight attendants.
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The pair alleged in the lawsuit that they were not paid overtime for their extended hours working on Blank’s luxurious aircraft, partly because the flight group “was a dysfunctional and poorly run business unit that hired and retained incompetent employees solely because they had sexual relationships with Blank or supervisors.”
The complaint, which was filed on Oct. 18 in Atlanta federal court, claims that 82-year-old Blank was romantically involved with 42-year-old Christie Buice, who was hired as a flight attendant by the billionaire’s family office, AMBFO.
Buice “provided only limited support” as AMBFO “allowed her to be scheduled on flights only if Blank was the only person travelling on the aircraft,” according to the complaint, which was reported by Business Insider and Law360.
As a result, Pearson and Carlisle alleged, they were “regularly required to work far more than 40 hours per week due to their heavy workload” and were “regularly required” to “cover up (Buice’s) deficiencies and handle the vast majority of the flights for AMBFO.”
In another bombshell in the suit, the pair of stewardesses allege that AMBFO kept another employee on the payroll who was “similarly incapable of performing her duties” while she was “in a romantic relationship with the director of aviation.”
That woman was “completely unqualified for her position” and her “hiring served only to increase Plaintiffs’ workload by both handling her duties and attempting to familiarize her with the company’s operations.”
Blank, who is thrice divorced and has six children, has an estimated net worth of $9.4 billion, according to Forbes.
He didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from the New York Post. The outlet also sought comment from Buice.
On the field, Blank’s Falcons lead the NFC South division, but suffered a 20-17 setback against rival New Orleans Saints on Sunday. Atlanta will host the Denver Broncos this week before their bye.