Delta Airlines 2004 Annual Report Download - page 26

Table of Contents
January 6, 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court's judgment. The time for plaintiffs to file a petition for a writ of
certiorari to the United States Supreme Court has not expired.
Power Travel International, Inc., et al. v. American Airlines, et al.
In August 2002, a travel agency filed a purported class action lawsuit in New York state court against us, American, Continental, Northwest, United and
JetBlue, on behalf of an alleged nationwide class of U.S. travel agents. JetBlue has been dismissed from the case, and the remaining defendants removed the
action to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants breached their contracts with and their duties
of good faith and fair dealing to U.S. travel agencies when these airlines discontinued the payment of published base commissions to U.S. travel agencies at
various times beginning in March 2002. The plaintiffs' amended complaint seeks unspecified damages, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief.
Multidistrict Pilot Retirement Plan Litigation
During the June 2001 quarter, the Pilots Retirement Plan and related non-qualified pilot retirement plans sponsored and funded by us were named as
defendants in five purported class action lawsuits filed in federal district courts in California, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Mexico and New York. The
complaints (1) seek to assert claims on behalf of a class consisting of certain groups of retired and active Delta pilots; (2) allege that the calculation of the
retirement benefits of the plaintiffs and the class violated the Pilots Retirement Plan and the Internal Revenue Code; and (3) seek unspecified damages. In
October 2001, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation granted our motion to transfer these cases to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of
Georgia for coordinated pretrial proceedings. Our motion to dismiss the non-qualified plans was granted and both sides have filed motions for summary
judgment on all remaining claims.
Litigation Re September 11 Terrorist Attacks
We are a defendant in numerous lawsuits arising out of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. It appears that the plaintiffs in these actions are
alleging that we and many other air carriers are jointly liable for damages resulting from the terrorist attacks based on a theory of shared responsibility for
passenger security screening at Logan, Washington Dulles International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. These lawsuits, which are in
preliminary stages, generally seek unspecified damages, including punitive damages. Although federal law limits the financial liability of any air carrier for
compensatory and punitive damages arising out of the September 11 terrorist attacks to no more than the limits of liability insurance coverage maintained by
the air carrier, it is possible that we may be required to pay damages in the event of our insurers' insolvency or otherwise.
Delta Family-Care Savings Plan Litigation
On September 3, 2004, a former Delta employee filed a lawsuit on behalf of himself and all other participants in the Savings Plan against Delta and certain
past and present members of Delta's Board of Directors alleging violations of ERISA. The complaint alleges that the defendants breached their fiduciary
obligations under ERISA during the period from November 2000 through August 2004 with respect to Savings Plan investments in our stock, both in our
common stock fund into which participants may direct their own contributions and the Savings Plan's employee stock ownership plan component into which
Delta directs its contributions. Subsequent to the filing of the complaint, an identical action was filed by a second former employee, and a third similar action
was filed by a different former employee. The third suit contains additional claims, and names all current members of the Board of Directors and several past
directors as defendants. Attorneys for the plaintiffs have agreed to proceed with one consolidated complaint naming one plaintiff. The complaints seek
unspecified damages and have been filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Georgia.
* * *
As discussed above, Hall, et al. v. United Airlines, et al. is now over. In each of the other foregoing cases, we believe the plaintiffs' claims are without
merit, and we are vigorously defending the lawsuits. An adverse decision in any of these cases could result in substantial damages against us. Although the
ultimate outcome of 22