Delta Airlines 2004 Annual Report Download - page 25

Table of Contents
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
In Re Northwest Airlines, et al. Antitrust Litigation
In June 1999, two purported class action antitrust lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against us,
U.S. Airways and Northwest.
In these cases, plaintiffs allege, among other things: (1) that the defendants and certain other airlines conspired in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman
Act to restrain competition in the sale of air passenger service by enforcing rules prohibiting certain ticketing practices; and (2) that the defendants violated
Section 2 of the Sherman Act by prohibiting these ticketing practices.
Plaintiffs have requested a jury trial. They seek injunctive relief; costs and attorneys' fees; and unspecified damages, to be trebled under the antitrust laws.
The District Court granted the plaintiffs' motion for class action certification and denied the airlines' motions for summary judgment in May 2002. On May 4,
2004, the District Court issued a supplemental order defining various plaintiff subclasses. The subclasses pertinent to us include: (1) for the purpose of the
Section 1 claim, a subclass of persons or entities who purchased from a defendant or its agent a full fare, unrestricted ticket for travel on any of certain
designated city pairs originating or terminating at our Atlanta or Cincinnati hubs, Northwest's hubs at Minneapolis, Detroit or Memphis, or US Airways' hubs
at Pittsburgh or Charlotte, during the period from June 11, 1995 to date; (2) for the purpose of the Section 2 claim as it relates to our Atlanta hub, a subclass of
persons or entities who purchased from us or our agent a full fare, unrestricted ticket for travel on any of certain designated city pairs originating or
terminating at our Atlanta hub during the same period; and (3) for the purpose of the Section 2 claim as it relates to our Cincinnati hub, a subclass of persons
or entities who purchased from us or our agent a full fare, unrestricted ticket for travel on any of certain designated city pairs originating or terminating at our
Cincinnati hub during the same period. The District Court has not scheduled the trial of these lawsuits.
Hall, et al. v. United Airlines, et al.
In January 2002, a travel agent in North Carolina filed a class action lawsuit against numerous airlines, including us, in the U.S. District Court for the
Eastern District of North Carolina on behalf of all travel agents in the United States which sold tickets from September 1, 1997 to the present on any of the
defendant airlines. The lawsuit alleges that we and the other airline defendants conspired to fix travel agent commissions in violation of Section 1 of the
Sherman Act. The plaintiff, who has requested a jury trial, is seeking in its complaint injunctive relief; costs and attorneys' fees; and unspecified damages, to
be trebled under the antitrust laws.
In September 2002, the District Court granted the plaintiff's motion for class action certification, certifying a class consisting of all travel agents in the
United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands which sold tickets on the defendant airlines between 1997 and 2002.
On October 30, 2003, the District Court granted summary judgment against the plaintiff class, dismissing all claims asserted against us and most other
defendants. On December 9, 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the District Court's judgment. On January 4, 2005, the Court of
Appeals denied the plaintiffs' motion for rehearing en banc. The plaintiffs have agreed not to file a petition for a writ of certiorari to the United States
Supreme Court. Accordingly, this case is now over.
All Direct Travel, Inc., et al. v. Delta Air Lines, et al.
Two travel agencies have filed a purported class action lawsuit against us in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of all
travel agencies from which we have demanded payment for breach of the agencies' contractual and fiduciary duties to us in connection with Delta ticket sale
transactions during the period from September 20, 1997 to the present. The lawsuit alleges that our conduct (1) violates the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act of 1970; and (2) creates liability for unjust enrichment. The plaintiffs, who have requested a jury trial, are seeking in their complaint
injunctive and declaratory relief; costs and attorneys' fees; and unspecified treble damages. In January 2003, the District Court denied the plaintiffs' motion for
class action certification and in April 2003 granted our motion for summary judgment on all claims. On
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