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1:15-mc-01404
District Of Columbia
Anti-Trust
Class Action
Colleen Kollar-Kotelly
Passengers accusing major airlines of conspiring to limit seats on certain flights to increase ticket prices urged a D.C. federal court to reject a request from Delta and United to immediately appeal their lost bid to end the long-running case ahead of trial.
United and Delta asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge Thursday to allow them to appeal her refusal to dismiss the two airlines from multidistrict litigation accusing them of conspiring to limit seats to hike ticket prices, arguing the order made "two legal rulings" that conflict with "clear legal precedent from every circuit."
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday rejected bids from Delta and United to exit multidistrict litigation claiming the companies and other airlines conspired to limit seats on some flights to increase ticket prices, leaving them alone as defendants since Southwest and American have already struck deals to escape the claims.
A group of airline passengers are facing an uphill battle challenging the settlements — worth a total of $60 million — struck to tie up ticket buyers' collusion claims, with a D.C. Circuit panel asserting Wednesday that their appeal is premature because a district judge overseeing the case hasn't entered a final judgment.
Delta and United Airlines want a D.C. federal judge to nix price-fixing claims that they said in briefs made public Wednesday are based on rational, independent decisions on how to handle passenger capacity, rather than any kind of conspiracy.
Southwest Airlines Co. and American Airlines Inc. secured their flight from ticket buyers' collusion suit when a D.C. federal judge gave final approval to their deals totaling $60 million.
A D.C. federal judge appeared skeptical of ticket buyers' objections to a $60 million deal to settle allegations of collusion between several major U.S. airlines, saying Friday that the details of large settlement payments usually are not released until the entire case is resolved.
Airline passengers might not see a dime of the $60 million deal two major U.S. airlines struck to tie up ticket buyers' collusion claims, two objectors said, arguing that as the settlement stands, attorneys for the class could easily funnel the payout to their favorite charities or alma maters.
At the request of 10 state attorneys general, the lawyers representing airline passengers in line for a $60 million settlement from two of the nation's largest airlines asked a D.C. federal court on Wednesday to delay ruling on the plaintiffs' motion for attorneys' fees in the price-fixing multidistrict litigation.
A D.C. federal judge on Thursday gave passengers more time to sift through 3.5 million documents produced by United Airlines, after they found that only a small percentage of the records was usable in an antitrust case accusing major airlines of limiting seats available on domestic flights and charging consumers high rates.