Klutho v. Southwest Airlines Co. (E.D. Mo. Nov. 13, 2020).  In his state court class action complaint, the plaintiff alleged that Southwest had canceled his flight and rebooked him on another flight but did not refund the fee he had paid for “EarlyBird Check-In” on the canceled flight, requiring him to pay an additional fee for early boarding on the alternate flight.  The plaintiff alleged causes of action for unjust enrichment and money had and received. Southwest removed the case to federal court and filed a motion to dismiss, contending that 49 U.S.C. § 41713(b)(1), a provision of ..read more

Click 2 Refund Inc. v. British Airways Plc (C.D. Cal. Nov. 18, 2019).  EU 261’s robust compensation provisions have spawned a thriving industry of web-based “claims management companies” that offer to assist airline customers in obtaining recoveries for canceled or delayed flights on a “no win, no fee” basis.  One such company claims that it has recovered over $90 million from airlines.  Another, Click 2 Refund, promotes its service as having a “98% success rate in court.” After British Airways refused to pay Click 2 Refund’s demand based on its customers’ EU 261 claim, the comp ..read more

Serafini v. Southwest Airlines Co. (N.D. Tex. Sept. 8, 2020).  The passenger/plaintiff commenced her personal injury lawsuit against Southwest in a Texas state court.  The next day, and before service had been effected, Southwest, a Texas citizen and the sole defendant, “snap removed” the case to federal court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction.  In other words, the court noted, “Southwest wanted to get away.” The plaintiff filed a motion to remand.  The motion was not based on jurisdictional grounds, as the parties’ citizenships were diverse and the amount in controver ..read more

McGarry v. Delta Air Lines, Inc. (9th Cir. July 17, 2020).  Through a malware attack, hackers accessed credit and debit card information, mailing addresses and other personal information of users of Delta’s website.  One user brought a class action complaint against Delta and [24]7, “a chat service that Delta retained to interact with customers through its website.”  The plaintiff alleged that she faced “years of constant surveillance of her financial and personal records, monitoring, and loss of rights,” and her first amended complaint alleged claims for “(1) breach of contract ..read more

Hebert v. Vantage Travel Service, Inc. (D. Mass. Mar. 12, 2020).  According to the aggrieved passengers/plaintiffs, after their river cruise boat was disabled by a mechanical failure during a trip in Germany, the tour operator made unacceptable itinerary, lodging and dining changes, including providing a “cafeteria style buffet dinner at the hotel with food leftover from a previous meal.”  In their state court complaint, the plaintiffs alleged a cause of action under Massachusetts’s powerful consumer protection statute, General Laws Chapter 93A, among other claims.  The tour ope ..read more

Entourage Custom Jets, LLC v. Air One MRO, LLC (S.D. Fla. Feb. 20, 2020).  Burglars removed avionics equipment from an MD-87 in the possession of an MRO performing maintenance and upgrade work on the aircraft.  The aircraft’s owner and its subrogated insurer sued the MRO and its landlord, alleging breach of bailment, negligence and other causes of action. The MRO moved to dismiss on the grounds that the liability limitations and waivers in its agreement with the aircraft owner precluded the owner’s claims, but the court denied the motion, ruling that the terms at issue did not apply ..read more

Gleissner v. Air China Airlines Limited (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 6, 2020).  For a flight from Barcelona to Vienna, Air China refused to allow a member of the plaintiff’s entourage to check in because she lacked a valid visa to enter Austria.  The ticketholder held a single-entry visa for the Schengen Area, an area in Europe that, pursuant to the 1985 Schengen Agreement, allows passport-free movement between signatory countries.  Austria and Spain are signatories to the Schengen Agreement, but China is not a signatory.  The ticketholder had used the single-entry visa to enter Spain. T ..read more

Edwards v. Southwest Airlines Co. (S.D. Ohio Jan. 28, 2020).  As a ruse, the plaintiff’s 14-year-old son asked his grandfather to go to Starbucks to get him a Frappuccino, according to the complaint.  With his grandfather out of the house, the teen headed to the Columbus airport, intent on boarding a Southwest flight to New Orleans using a ticket his mother had purchased.  The teen’s father, who had been at work, learned of the situation, called the police and arrived at the airport before the flight departed but was unable to prevent his son from traveling.  The father all ..read more

In re Air Crash Over the Southern Indian Ocean (D.C. Cir. Jan. 10, 2020).  In the multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against Malaysian Airline System Berhad, Malaysia Airlines Berhad and other defendants arising out of the disappearance of flight MH370, the court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss based on the doctrine of forum non conveniens, ruling that the defendants had met their burden of proving that (i) Malaysia is an “adequate alternative forum” for litigation of the plaintiffs’ claims, and (ii) the balance of public and private ..read more

Kopp v. Delta Airlines, Inc. (E.D. Ky. Dec. 26, 2019).  During a domestic flight, the passenger/plaintiff was standing in the aisle when a flight attendant came “rushing” toward her “at a high rate of speed,” according to the complaint.  The plaintiff alleged that, while trying to get out of the way, she caught her foot in a seat frame and twisted her knee, causing an injury.  The plaintiff’s complaint alleged negligence causes of action against Delta and the flight attendant.  During discovery, the plaintiff admitted that the flight attendant never made physical contact wi ..read more