Anne Bucher ย |ย  August 27, 2024

Category: Legal News
Close up of flight board showing cancelled flights, representing the Crowdstrike lawsuit.
(Photo Credit: August Phunitiphat/Shutterstock)

CrowdStrike class action lawsuit overview:

  • Who: Plaintiffs Christopher and Sara Harlan filed a class action lawsuit against CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. and CrowdStrike Inc.
  • Why: The Harlans claim that CrowdStrike failed to adequately test its software update before pushing it out worldwide on July 19, directly causing global flight cancellations and other issues.
  • Where: The CrowdStrike class action lawsuit was filed in Texas federal court.

A new CrowdStrike class action lawsuit claims the cybersecurity company simultaneously pushed out software updates to all of its computer networks, causing massive flight disruptions and Delta flight outages.

Plaintiffs Christopher and Sara Harlan allege CrowdStrike pushed its Falcon security platform on airlines.

โ€œCrowdStrike attaches deeply within the Windows operating system to anticipate innovative hackers, but that deep-level attachment also gives CrowdStrike greater ability to trigger a computer failure,โ€ the CrowdStrike class action lawsuit says.

The Harlans claim CrowdStrike โ€œpushed out an ill-designed and poorly tested update to its Falcon softwareโ€ on July 19, causing a massive computer outage for companies relying on the Crowdstrike software.

Due to the CrowdStrike outage, thousands of Deltaโ€™s computers crashed and needed to be rebooted manually. Because vital information was stored in the computers and not accessible due to the outage, Delta was forced to cancel thousands of flights, according to the CrowdStrike class action.

Delta flight outages cost travelers time and money, plaintiffs say

Travelers affected by the Delta flight outages became stranded at various airports. In many cases, they were forced to secure hotel rooms or pay for alternative methods of transportation. Other affected travelers were unable to attend events for which they had already paid.

The Harlans say they were scheduled to fly home from their vacation in the Dominican Republic on July 22 and ended up stranded in Atlanta because of the Delta flight outages. They tried to reschedule their flight several times but those flights were allegedly canceled as well.ย 

Due to the Delta flight outages, the plaintiffs say they incurred costs for a hotel room, Uber transportation, extra parking at the airport and an extra day of house-sitting.

The Harlans allege the Delta flight outages cost affected travelers millions of dollars. They say these damages were caused directly by the CrowdStrike software update.

A group of travelers recently filed another CrowdStrike class action lawsuit claiming the company is responsible for disrupting millions of computers and thousands of flights, costing travelers money to deal with the fallout.

Were you affected by the Delta flight outages? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

The Harlans are represented by Warren T. Burns, Kyle Oxford and Korey A. Nelson of Burns Charest LLP; Robert K. Shelquist, Rebecca A. Peterson and Craig S. Davis of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP and Charles J. LaDuca and Brendan Thompson of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP.

The CrowdStrike Delta flight outages class action lawsuit is Christopher Harlan, et al. v. Crowdstrike Holdings Inc., Case No. 1:24-cv-00954, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division.


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4 thoughts onCrowdStrike hit with class action over Delta flight outages

  1. Amber Johnson says:

    On July 22, after my return flight from Detroit to Tampa was delayed and then canceled, I was abandoned by Delta with no assistance in rebooking or finding alternative transportation. I secured a distant hotel room for two days while trying to find a way back to Florida. With no flights, rental cars, or suitable bus or train options available, my husband had to drive from Florida to Detroit to retrieve me. This resulted in significant expenses, including multiple hotel stays, Lyft rides, meals, gas, and vehicle maintenance, totaling over $1,100, along with severe emotional distress from the exhausting and dangerous journey.

  2. JESSICA WESTMAN says:

    July 20, 2024, my family of 6 was supposed to fly to Orlando from Atlanta, Ga to get on a 5 day cruise. I continuously checked flight statusโ€™ and our flight continuously said on time. We did not receive the first notification of delays until after getting through TSA. Our flight was delayed 6 in 15-20 minute intervals for hours while the airport personnel advised several times that its scheduling software was malfunctioning and we did not have a crew. It went back and forth from no crew, to no pilot back to no crews because the pilots were pulled for flights that had a crew. Meanwhile, we continuously received notification that our baggage was on the plane, then removed several times. When attempting to get our baggage, we were told they could not give it to us and that if we would have o file a claim with baggage and our bags would fly to Orlando and placed back on a flight to Atlanta. When we arrived in Orlando 6 hours later, we attempted to rush to the pier to see if there was a possibility of still getting on our cruise. We were denied and left stranded at the pier with myself, spouse and 4 kids with no where to go and no plan. We scrounged for a hotel to stay at, after the 5th one, we finally found one with availability but not that would fit 6 guests. We had to pay for 2 separate rooms and split the kids up until the next day when they had availability for a room to fit us all. Our return flight was not supposed to be until 7/25. During the next 48 hours, we are contacting car places for rentals, they were out. Paying for ubers, door dash ect just trying to survive while attempting to make plans to get home and not crush our kids. We finally found a different flight home on Monday to fly out on Tuesday. Delta has refused to reimburse for anything other than our canceled flight home that was already showing delayed. It cost us nearly 9k including the 5 day cruise we missed, hotel costs, ubers, rentals and food.

  3. Josephine Pilla says:

    Are only lllinois people allowed in the Walgreenโ€™s Flexible Fabric PFA class action. Iโ€™ve been using them for a long time in San Francisco.

  4. Laura Garner says:

    On July 19, I was stranded in Salt Lake City Utah for over five hours because my flight kept getting delayed or canceled by Delta Airlines. All they compensated me on was 10,000 points and that posted to my account the day before the actual outage so itโ€™s kind of strange.

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