Our Class Action practice group has pioneered innovative approaches to defending multidistrict class litigation resulting in impressive victories.

During the past decade, we have defended enterprise-threatening class liability claims with effective strategies that secured early dismissal. We also are known for providing superior case management and coordinated legal strategies to protect our clients’ interests during government investigations which often precede class actions.

Our eighty-seven years of experience in representing the interests of the aviation industry makes us ideally positioned to represent any aviation industry organization concerning consumer protection, anti-trust and class action issues which may arise from its operations in the United States and abroad. When litigation was not advisable, we have successfully negotiated numerous settlements based on business considerations.

Some of our recent successes include:

  • Dismissal of a breach of contract class action litigation with industry wide implications arising from the application of a European Union regulation for compensation to U.S. passengers in the event of denied boarding, cancellation or delay. In a decision of first impression, one court found that the Airline Deregulation Act preempted plaintiffs’ class-based breach of contract claims.
  • Dismissal of a putative class action alleging that a foreign airline breached its transportation contract with passengers by improperly applying a foreign tourism tax on exempt passengers and failing to notify such passengers of their exempt status.
  • Successful defense of a foreign air carrier on a claim that the airline conspired with several of plaintiff’s competitor travel agents to fix retained commissions and prices in order to drive the plaintiff out of business.
  • Successful defense of a foreign air carrier in class action litigation involving a proposed class of more than 35,000 people arising from mass disruptions involving lost, delayed and/or damaged baggage at London Heathrow Airport between 2005 and 2007.
  • Favorable settlement for an airline maintenance facility in putative class action litigation against several defendants related to the improper disposal of expired oxygen generators that caused a toxic cloud in a residential neighborhood.
  • Dismissal of putative class action litigation on behalf of more than 10,000 passengers against an airport terminal corporation for delays experienced after a blizzard closed the airport.