(CNN) -- Can complaining too much get you booted from a frequent flier program?
It's one of the questions at the heart of a lawsuit filed against Northwest -- now owned by Delta Air Lines -- by S. Binyomin Ginsberg, a rabbi who lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and frequently travels to lecture and teach.
Ginsberg joined Northwest's WorldPerks frequent flier program in 1999 and reached Platinum Elite status in 2005.
But in June of 2008, Ginsberg said a Northwest representative called him and told him his status was being revoked "on the ground that he had 'abused' the program," according to court papers.
Ginsberg said the airline also took away the hundreds of thousands of miles accumulated in his account.
"It didn't make sense. Initially, when they contacted me on the phone I thought it was a prank call," Ginsberg said.
"When I pushed for a reason and clarification, they told me it was because I was complaining too much."
In July 2008, Northwest sent the rabbi a letter noting that he had made 24 complaints in the past eight months, including nine incidents of his bag arriving late at the luggage carousel, according to court papers.
"You have continually asked for compensation over and above our guidelines. We have awarded you $1,925.00 in travel credit vouchers, 78,500 WorldPerks bonus miles, a voucher extension for your son, and $491.00 in cash reimbursements," the letter states, according to court papers.
via www.cnn.com
