Victoria Osteen Lawsuit

Victoria Osteen, wife of prominent TV preacher Joel Osteen, has prevailed in a lawsuit brought against her by Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown. Brown had claimed that Osteen had physically assaulted her during a 2005 flight from Texas to Colorado, and had been seeking $500,000 in damages.

Fast Facts

1. Incident occurred on December 19, 2005
2. Caused by complaint over spilled liquid in Osteen's first-class seat
3. Altercation resulted in Osteen family being removed from the flight
4. Lawsuit claims Sharon Brown was assaulted by Victoria Osteen¹
5. Brown is requesting 10% of Osteen's net worth for punitive damages²
6. Claim includes mental duress, counseling and medical costs
7. Brown claims she "lost her faith" because of the incident¹
8. Osteen's lawyer requested the FAA report on the incident be removed from evidence¹
9. Three passengers and the pilot testified that they witnessed no assault

The Incident

According to Brown, Victoria Osteen was upset about a spill on her first-class airline seat. After reporting the spill to a stewardess, she was unsatisfied with the response and followed the stewardess towards the cockpit of the plane. When she encountered Brown, who was preventing her from reaching the cockpit, she allegedly pushed her against a restroom door and elbowed her in the chest.¹

Jury Selection

Jury selection began in August 2008. 130 potential jurors were selected to be narrowed down to the final twelve. Because of the popularity of Lakewood Church where Mrs. Osteen is the co-pastor, many of those selected had either attended a service there or read one of Joel Osteen's many popular books.¹

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