United Should Face COVID Refund Policy Class Action Lawsuit, Plaintiffs Say

Plaintiffs say United Airlines can’t use the refund policy in its purchase contracts to dodge a class action lawsuit demanding refunds for plane travel canceled by the coronavirus pandemic.

Lead plaintiffs Jacob Rudolph, Mark Hansen and Jason Buffer say United canceled their flights as the bottom dropped out of air travel in the midst of COVID-19. In their consolidated class action lawsuit, they claim United is trying to get out of paying refunds for flights canceled between March and May 2020.

The plaintiffs take issue with United’s recent motion to dismiss their complaint. According to the plaintiffs, United is attempting to improperly use a force majeure term in their flight ticket contract to get out of paying for its cancellations.

Force majeure clauses are commonly used in contracts to protect parties from unexpected events that can affect their obligations, according to Investopedia.

Investopedia notes “force majeure” is a French term that relates to “acts of God,” such as unexpected natural disasters like tornadoes or tsunamis. These clauses can also be applied to human-caused events, such as terrorist attacks or war.

The plaintiffs say force majeure events, under United’s own contract, are limited to events that physically prohibit flights, expose passengers to substantial risk or are an emergency situation requiring immediate care. According to the plaintiffs, United canceled their flights due to economic considerations.

“United’s statements confirm it cancelled the majority of its flights for one simple reason: reduced passenger demand made it uneconomical to operate its regular schedule, which would have required United to operate undersold flights. Because United cancelled Plaintiffs’ flights due to economic considerations — not a force majeure event — United plainly breached its obligation under the Contract to refund Plaintiffs and the Class,” the plaintiffs’ opposition motion states.

The plaintiffs point out in their motion that, prior to June 2020, United’s refund policy allowed the airline to provide travel credits to passengers whose flights were canceled due to force majeure events; however, passengers whose flights were canceled due to a “scheduling change” or “irregular operation” are entitled to request refunds. The travelers say this interpretation is consistent with Department of Transportation regulations.

“During March 2020, United altered its refund practices, ultimately announcing it would provide only credits for future flights, even though its Contract required refunds,” the plaintiffs’ motion claims. “United also took a variety of steps to make it difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to receive a refund. United, in other words, flouted its contractual obligations and breached the Contract.”

According to the plaintiffs’ motion, United cannot hide behind the force majeure clause in its contract because the airline chose to cancel flights – they were not necessarily canceled by an unexpected event.

“Plaintiffs allege United cancelled their flights for economic reasons: COVID-19 suppressed demand for flights, rendering United’s existing schedule unprofitable,” the motion points out. “Indeed, United chose not to run the majority of its flights at levels well below capacity in order to avoid operating losses, as evidenced by the fact that it has operated a reduced schedule throughout the pandemic.”

Further, claims the plaintiffs’ opposition, United does not explain how their cancelations during the coronavirus outbreak constitute a force majeure event. The plaintiffs point out that, while United canceled and rescheduled many flights, it did not cancel them all.

“In fact, United continued (and continues) to operate flights despite the fact that COVID-19 has not abated (and has intermittently intensified throughout 2020),” the class action lawsuit states.

The plaintiffs also argue that even if the force majeure clause of United’s contract applied, it would render the contract ambiguous and unenforceable. In situations where a contract is vague, the plaintiffs say, issues must be resolved against the party that created the contract — in this case, United.

The continuing spread of COVID-19 has upended many aspects of consumers’ lives. TCA has compiled a legal guide to consumer issues during the coronavirus pandemic.

Was your United flight canceled during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic? What do you think of the airline’s refund policy? Tell us in the comment section below.

The lead plaintiffs and proposed Class Members are represented by Steve W. Berman, Daniel J. Kurowski and Whitney K. Siehl of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP; Bryan L. Clobes, Daniel O. Herrera and Nickolas J. Hagman of Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP; and Joseph G. Sauder and Joseph B. Kenney of Sauder Schelkopf LLC.

The United Airlines COVID Refund Policy Class Action Lawsuit is Jacob Rudolph v. United Airlines Holdings Inc., et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-02142, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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