If you flew on Delta Airlines and arrived at your destination minus your baggage, there's a class action lawsuit you might want to join.
The basis for the lawsuit is Delta's policy of telling passengers whose luggage has been delayed that they are only entitled to only $25 to $50 in daily expenses. Yet the "contract of carriage," which applies to Delta and other airlines, entitles passengers to be paid up to $3,300 for expenses they incur when their baggage is delayed.
Plaintiff Susan Miller filed a class action against Delta on December 5, because her bag was delayed during a business trip she took from Florida to Las Vegas to attend a convention. Given the different climate of Las Vegas, Miller went out and "bought her essentials," according to her attorney, John Mattes, a Florida public policy litigator, currently based in San Diego, and investigative reporter. She asked Delta to reimburse her for her purchases, but Delta refused. "She was infuriated with the way Delta had been treating her," says Mattes.
According to Mattes, "The policy of not being upfront with passengers about their rights is system-wide" at Delta. According to the lawsuit, Delta posts "small signs in out of the way places with legal notices of terms of contract of carriage. Delta knows full well that passengers boarding a plane won't notice such signs posted on the sides of tickets counters as they are boarding, not will passengers understand the legal language 'contract of carriage.' Delta knows its signs are not intended to be noticed or understood. All it would take is a simple sign clearly posted in the baggage office telling passengers they can obtain reimbursement up to $3,300 for expenses they incur while the bags are delayed. Delta does not do that."
Indeed, Mattes says that at Delta's offices, there is "little to no signage," and certainly none that tells passengers they are entitled to reimbursed expenses up to $3,300 when their baggage is delayed. He notes that "baggage abuse and baggage complains are on the biggest issues for air passengers today." While baggage issues are "systematic" in the airline industry, "Delta has been one of the biggest abusers."
A warning letter
Mattes, who was pursuing his own investigation of Delta's delayed baggage policies, notes that the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a warning letter a year and a half ago to Delta and other airlines. The letter stated that the airlines were "deliberately misinforming passengers" about their rights when their baggage was delayed. He notes, "How is a lay person to know what their rights are?"
According to Mattes, "we just want the contract [of carriage] enforced." The class action, filed in the Southern District of Florida, Key West, seeks compensatory damages on behalf of "all of the passengers on Delta who've had their bags delayed and been offered nothing," or at least far less than their just deserts. "Delta has made a business decision not to inform passengers of their rights, and we're seeking a remedy," says Mattes.
"Hopefully, this will be a wake-up call," Mattes adds. "We hope the airline industry will start treating people like customers, not like cattle. You need to treat passengers as consumers in a respectful manner. Businesses that put consumers first flourish." He adds, "The burden is always on [the passenger]. The burden should be on them."
Mattes would not comment on whether the class action seeks punitive damages or whether he also might target other airlines. His co-counsel in the case is David K. Tucker of Miami's Tucker & Kotler, P.A.
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