Passenger Forced to Pay $700 for Reclining His Seat on a Train – Here’s Why

In China, a train passenger who damaged another passenger’s laptop while reclining the seat had to pay compensation.

CNN reported that a passenger on a train heading to Wuhan, China, reclined his seat and damaged the laptop belonging to a passenger in the back seat. The incident happened in March, and the details were revealed last month as the court disclosed the relevant documents. According to the report, a university student named Wang boarded the train with a laptop that he had just purchased. He was sitting in his seat and using his laptop on the tray table. The incident occurred when passenger Liu, sitting in front of Wang, reclined his seat, pressing on Wang’s laptop and damaging the screen.

Wang demanded Liu a total compensation of 4788 yuan (approximately $700) for laptop repair costs, transportation expenses, and compensation for travel disruption. However, Liu refused, and the disagreement eventually led to a lawsuit. The People’s Court in Xiangyin, Hunan Province, ruled that both were responsible for this incident. However, they found Liu to be more at fault and ordered him to pay 70% of the amount Wang requested, which was 3341 yuan (approximately $460). The court pointed out that Liu did not inform the passenger behind him before adjusting the angle of his seat, despite the guidelines. They also stated that Wang bears partial responsibility for not being responsible with his laptop. This is not the first issue arising from passengers reclining their seats during travel. In February 2020, a similar controversy occurred on a domestic flight in the U.S. when an American passenger unexpectedly reclined their seat, squashing the passenger’s laptop in the back.