[AirlinesMustPay]

I do not think that a Flight attendant will remove a bag from the overhead bin without asking whose it was. But with full overhead bins, passengers often have to store their carry ons some distance from where they sit and so the OP may not have heard when the FA asked whose it was.

If the FA was smart she would have had someone with her when she opened the bag to identify the owner and then take the bag to the OP to let her see if it could be stored under the seat in front or at least let her take out her valuables.

If the OP was given a tag number for the bag when she was told the bag was tagged to Providence, this supports the case as if the tag number was a fake, Continental would have been able to tell her that.

The fact that the Attorneys are asking her for receipts, show that Continental accepts her story but doubt the value of her loss.

I feel a Judge hearing her case will rule against the airline. It is difficult to determine what was really in the bag, but the airline is in charge and the airline should not simply have tagged the carry on without giving her a chance to secure valuables.

I travelled on Delta from JFK to Port of Spain a few months ago and the flight was full to the extent that they had people taking carry ons from passengers on entering the aircraft. But the agent asked if there was medication or valuables in the carry on and then gave me a tag for the bag. If Continental knew that they had a flight so full that the overhead lockers were that full, then they may have done that.

If the OP is reading these posts, she should be careful with deadlines for filing a claim. If it was an international flight the Warsaw Convention applies and she has 2 years to file a claim in Court. If it was a domestic flight then the laws of the state where the contract was entered will apply.

Jetliner: Although I never practised law in the United States, I know from speaking to US Attorneys that it is not strange for US companies to retain Attorneys to represent them even if they have inhouse lawyers.