Lawsuit and Counterclaim Over a Private Jet Incident
On July 13, 2024, a private jet carrying billionaire Peter Thiel and his family had a storage problem: both bathrooms were unavailable. One was stuffed with luggage, the other used to store cooler bags and kitchen equipment. What happened next has led to a federal lawsuit featuring claims of assault, disputes over workers’ compensation, and the enforceability of a confidentiality agreement.
The Alleged Assault
Stefanie Bojar, a flight attendant employed by Solairus Aviation, had worked more than 200 flights for Thiel and his husband, Matthew Danzeisen. On that July flight, Bojar alleges that Danzeisen—head of private investments at Thiel Capital—shoved her aside and threw multiple heavy cooler bags at her, knocking her into the aircraft wall and causing serious injuries to her ankle and knee. An MRI later showed a torn tendon in her left ankle, requiring surgery and ongoing treatment.
Danzeisen, through his attorney Alex Spiro, characterizes the incident as a minor accident: he was clearing soft fabric cooler bags from a bathroom for his child, and at most one bag may have accidentally brushed Bojar’s leg. Spiro called the lawsuit a “shakedown about a bag that bumped into someone’s leg.”
Legal Maneuvers
In May 2026, Danzeisen preemptively sued Bojar in the Central District of California after she sent a demand letter. His complaint describes Bojar as waging a “campaign to extort” him and Thiel, accusing her of defamation and violating a confidentiality agreement. He asks the court to impose a gag order and award damages.
Bojar denied the allegations in a counterclaim filed Tuesday (July 8, 2026), adding Thiel Capital as a defendant and alleging battery, assault, emotional distress, and negligent supervision. She claims Thiel Capital knew or should have known about Danzeisen’s alleged conduct toward flight crew and failed to intervene.
Workers’ Compensation Dispute
Danzeisen’s lawsuit argues that Bojar already treated the incident as a workplace injury by seeking and receiving workers’ compensation benefits, which should be her exclusive remedy. Michael Duff, a law professor at Saint Louis University, noted that workers’ compensation generally limits lawsuits against an employer but not necessarily against a third party. The case turns on whether Danzeisen or Thiel Capital can be treated as Bojar’s employer.
Broader Allegations and Context
Bojar alleges that the July incident was part of a pattern. She claims Danzeisen berated her weeks earlier over the same bathroom storage issue, and that staff warned her of his moods. She says at least two other flight attendants stopped working on the account after similar abuse, including one nearly struck with a fork. The flight on July 13 was scheduled from Sun Valley, Idaho, to Washington, DC, the same day Donald Trump was shot at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Bojar’s attorney, Elliott Jung, called the preemptive lawsuit a “bullying tactic” meant to intimidate an injured former employee. “Just because you have wealth doesn’t mean that you have the right to just hurt people,” Jung said. Danzeisen’s attorney Spiro responded, “This is a shakedown about a bag that bumped into someone’s leg, and we do not pay out to shakedowns. So we will see everyone in court.”