For more than a decade, environmental groups have accused airlines of "greenwashing" or misrepresenting the sustainability of their business operations. Now these claims are gaining traction around the globe. These groups...more
A consumer filed a class action lawsuit against a commercial airline on May 30, 2023, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleging three violations of California state law related to unfair and...more
In a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a bipartisan coalition of 38 AGs urged Congress to...more
With airlines facing over 30 class actions across the country seeking refunds for COVID-19 related flight cancellations, Pillsbury client Norwegian Air is the first to obtain a dismissal with prejudice. Boilerplate...more
Class action plaintiffs lawyers have reacted to the COVID-19 pandemic by filing putative class actions against airlines which, in order to conserve desperately needed cash, are offering travel credits in lieu of cash refunds...more
The Rhode Island Supreme Court recently held that the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA), a federal law, preempts Rhode Island law requiring premium pay for Sunday and holidays. This decision may allow employers in other...more
The high plains of Texas set the stage for a dramatic standoff between Lufthansa German Airlines and global distribution service (GDS) giant Sabre Travel over Lufthansa's decision to impose an $18 surcharge on every ticket...more
The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Eighth and Tenth Circuits recently affirmed district court opinions holding that the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) preempted state law claims that challenged prices charged by air ambulance...more
• Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) preempts class action claims seeking to enforce Florida statute that limits an air ambulance operator's prices by prohibiting balance billing of unpaid invoices. • McCarran-Ferguson Act...more
On April 4, 2018, Airlines for America, a trade association and lobbyist organization for U.S. airlines, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts against the Massachusetts Attorney General challenging the state’s...more
In Martin v. United Airlines, Inc., __ Fed. App'x __, 2018 WL 992289 (10th Cir. Feb. 21, 2018), Oklahoma residents brought a putative class action asserting various breach of contract theories against the airline arising from...more
Suddenly, the entire world is interested in learning about the laws governing airlines’ actions when a flight is overbooked. It isn’t every day that the entire world suddenly wants to learn all about something that you’ve...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has set up a circuit split for the U.S. Supreme Court in Watson v. Air Methods Corp., 834 F.3d 891 (8th Cir. 2016). In Watson, the Eight Circuit affirmed its precedent...more
Magic makes the impossible possible. Federal preemption aims at a similarly lofty goal. After all, the power to preempt a plaintiff’s state law claims is the power to transform a plaintiff’s entire case in a radical and...more
On September 21, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) does not preempt Miami-Dade County's Living Wage Ordinance (LWO). Amerijet Int'l, Inc. v. Miami-Dade...more
In April 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) preempted a frequent flyer program member's common law claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing because the...more
For years United Airlines has asked its customers to “Fly the Friendly Skies,” but a dispute with one of its frequent flyers turned decidedly unfriendly and became the subject of a recent case before the Seventh Circuit in...more
In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that the Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) can preempt even common law claims for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing if such claims relate...more
Resolving an issue of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Brown v. United Airlines, Inc. affirmed the district court's holding that common law claims, like statutory claims, are subject to...more
This spring, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to review two decisions that significantly affect the aviation industry, namely airline immunity under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) and preemption...more