Delta Airlines 2006 Annual Report Download - page 23

Delta Family-Care Savings Plan Litigation
On March 16, 2005, a retired Delta employee filed an amended class action complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
against Delta, certain current and former Delta officers and certain current and former Delta directors on behalf of himself and other participants in the Delta
Family-Care Savings Plan (“Savings Plan”). The amended complaint alleges that the defendants were fiduciaries of the Savings Plan and, as such, breached
their fiduciary duties under ERISA to the plaintiff class by (1) allowing class members to direct their contributions under the Savings Plan to a fund invested
in Delta common stock; and (2) continuing to hold Delta’s contributions to the Savings Plan in Delta’s common and preferred stock. The amended complaint
seeks damages unspecified in amount, but equal to the total loss of value in the participants’ accounts from September 2000 through September 2005 from the
investment in Delta stock. Defendants deny that there was any breach of fiduciary duty, and have moved to dismiss the complaint. The District Court stayed
the action against Delta due to the bankruptcy filing and granted the motion to dismiss filed by the individual defendants. The plaintiffs appealed to the United
States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit the District Court’s decision to dismiss the complaint against the individual defendants but voluntarily
dismissed this appeal, pending resolution of the automatic stay of their claim against Delta.
Comair Flight 5191
On August 27, 2006, Comair Flight 5191 crashed shortly after take-off in a field near the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky. All 47 passengers
and two members of the flight crew died in the accident. The third crew member survived with severe injuries. Lawsuits arising out of this accident have been
filed against Comair on behalf of at least 36 passengers, including a number of lawsuits that also name Delta as a defendant. Additional lawsuits are
anticipated. These lawsuits, which are in preliminary stages, generally assert claims for wrongful death and related personal injuries, and seek unspecified
damages, including punitive damages in most cases. All but four of the lawsuits filed to date have been filed either in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Kentucky or in state court in Fayette County, Kentucky. The cases filed in state court in Kentucky have been or are expected to be removed to
federal court. One lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, one lawsuit has been filed in state court in Broward
County, Florida, and two lawsuits have been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas. The federal court in New York has ordered the case
filed there to be transferred to the federal court in Kentucky. Our motion is currently pending in federal court in Florida to transfer the case filed in Florida to
the federal court in Kentucky. We are also seeking to transfer the lawsuits filed in Kansas to the federal court in Kentucky. Those matters pending in the
Eastern District of Kentucky have been consolidated as “In Re Air Crash at Lexington, Kentucky, August 27, 2006, Master File No. 5:06-CV-316.”
In addition, Comair has filed an action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky against the United States (based on the actions of
the FAA), the Lexington Airport Board and certain other Lexington airport defendants, seeking to apportion potential liability for damages arising from this
accident among all responsible parties.
We carry aviation risk liability insurance and believe that this insurance is sufficient to cover any liability likely to arise from this accident.
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For a discussion of certain environmental matters, see “Business — Environmental Matters” in Item 1.
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
No matters were submitted to a vote of our security holders during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year covered by this report.
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