Delta Airlines 2011 Annual Report Download - page 27

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
First Bag Fee Antitrust Litigation
In May, June and July, 2009, a number of purported class action antitrust lawsuits were filed in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of
Georgia, the Middle District of Florida, and the District of Nevada, against Delta and AirTran Airways (“AirTran”). In these cases, the plaintiffs originally
alleged that Delta and AirTran engaged in collusive behavior in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act in November 2008 based upon certain public
statements made in October 2008 by AirTran's CEO at an analyst conference concerning fees for the first checked bag, Delta's imposition of a fee for the first
checked bag on November 4, 2008 and AirTran's imposition of a similar fee on November 12, 2008. The plaintiffs sought to assert claims on behalf of an
alleged class consisting of passengers who paid the first bag fee after December 5, 2008 and seek injunctive relief and unspecified treble damages. All of these
cases have been consolidated for pre-trial proceedings in the Northern District of Georgia by the Multi-District Litigation (“MDL”) Panel.
In February 2010, the plaintiffs in the MDL proceeding filed a consolidated amended class action complaint which substantially expanded the scope of the
original complaint. In the consolidated amended complaint, plaintiffs add new allegations concerning alleged signaling by both Delta and AirTran based upon
statements made to the investment community by both carriers relating to industry capacity levels during 2008-2009. Plaintiffs also add a new cause of action
against Delta alleging attempted monopolization in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Act, paralleling a claim previously asserted against AirTran but not
Delta.
In August 2010, the District Court issued an order granting Delta's motion to dismiss the Section 2 claim, but denying its motion to dismiss the Section 1
claim. Plaintiffs have filed a motion to certify the Section 1 class, which remains pending. Delta believes the claims in these cases are without merit and is
vigorously defending these lawsuits.
EU Regulation 261 Class Action Litigation
In February 2011, a putative class action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking to represent all US residents who
were passengers on flights during the period from Feb 2009 to the present who are allegedly entitled to compensation under EU Regulation 261 because their
flight was cancelled or delayed by more than 3 hours. Plaintiffs allege that Delta has incorporated a duty to pay this compensation into its contract of carriage,
and assert a claim for breach of contract as the basis for their cause of action. The complaint seeks recovery of the EU Regulation 261 compensation of €600
for each US resident on a flight qualifying for such compensation. Delta disputes the allegations in the Complaint, has filed a motion to dismiss all claims, and
intends to vigorously defend the matter.
Canadian Passenger Surcharge Antitrust Litigation
On July 31, 2009, two parallel putative class actions were filed against a number of Canadian, Asian, European, and U.S. carriers (including Delta) in the
Ontario Superior Court of Justice. Both allege that the defendants colluded to fix the price of passenger surcharges, in Canada-Asia and Canada-Europe
markets respectively. There are no allegations in the complaints of any specific act by Delta in furtherance of either conspiracy. The complaints seek damages
in excess of $100 million. We believe the allegations against Delta are without merit and intend to vigorously defend these cases.
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For a discussion of certain environmental matters, see “Business-Environmental Matters” in Item 1.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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