Delta Air Lines Inc. may have to pay $1.8 million to plaintiffs in a price fixing class action lawsuit after the company didn’t comply with the discovery requirements and failed to hand over all of the information needed for evidence, in which Delta and AirTran Airways Inc. are charged with a conspiracy to fix baggage fees, a Georgia special master is recommending.
The plaintiffs had asked for the evidentiary sanctions against Delta after the airline had apparently lost or misplaced some of the requested digital data such as the its hard drives and backup copies of its server. The plaintiffs also allege that the delay by Delta to produce the required evidence was no accident.
While special master Bruce P. Brown told U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten that Delta most likely was not acting in bad faith, he did say that the federal judge should impose sanctions in the amount of $1.8 million to cover the attorney fees and other court costs that the plaintiffs racked up during the discovery process.
“A common thread through this entire litigation has been Delta’s inability to answer — correctly, at least, — legitimate questions about what evidence was available and what it had done to preserve it,” Brown wrote in Friday’s recommendation.
“There is no dispute that Delta should have produced all responsive documents by the end of the discovery period, that it did not do so, that the discovery period had to be extended, and that Delta continued to produce (or plaintiffs’ expert continued to find) documents that should have been produced years before,” he added.
The Delta and AirTran price fixing class action lawsuit was filed in February 2010, alleging that the two airlines conferred on their plans to increase their baggage fees via earnings calls, industry conferences and joint negotiations with the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The plaintiffs allege that Delta and Air Tran began discussing adding a $15 baggage fee as well as cutting back on flights after experiencing revenue losses in 2008 when oil prices had increased.
The plaintiffs cite the fact that both Delta and AirTran began reducing flights and charging the baggage fee on the same day — Dec. 5, 2008, and they say that these changes would not have occurred without the two airlines knowing about it in advance.
Delta argued against class certification in October 2013 saying that the plaintiffs did not meet the ascertainability requirement. In addition, Delta said that it wants to be able to defend itself against the individual claims before the class is certified.
Judge Batten has not ruled on the motion for class certification.
The plaintiffs filed for the sanctions against Delta in December 2013. At that time, they also asked that the federal judge would order that Delta could not dispute the alleged conspiracy with AirTran.
The special master does not agree with the plaintiffs that Delta intentionally destroyed the evidence.
“The evidence shows that the destruction of evidence had nothing to do with the content of the evidence destroyed or the identity of the custodian,” Brown said, adding that the evidence simply does not support the allegations.
The plaintiffs are represented by Conley Griggs LLP, Kotchen & Low LLP, McCulley McCluer PLLC, Richardson Patrick Westbrook & Brickman LLC and Schreeder Wheelier & Flint LLP.
Delta is represented by Alston & Bird LLO and Boies Schiller & Flexner LLP.
AirTran is represented by Vinson & Elkins LLP, Wiley Rein LLO, Morrison & Foerster LLP and Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP.
The Delta Price Fixing Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Airline Baggage Fee Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:09-md-02089, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.
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4 thoughts onDelta May Pay $1.8M in Sanctions In Baggage Fee Class Action
I purchase 4 tickets with Delta Airline June 2014. Do I qualify for baggage claim lawsuit?
I purchased 4tickets from delta airline company for a round trip ticket for 4 passengers. Do I qualify for this baggage fee class action suit?
I had a flight on Delta 3/28/14 and 3/27/14. Do I have a case in the Baggage Fee Class Action Lawsuit.
Thanks,
Melissa Mathews
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