Josh Gerstein on the Courts, Transparency, & More
Get alerts from Under the Radar blog
By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or updates from POLITICO and you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service. You can unsubscribe at any time and you can contact us here. This sign-up form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Josh Gerstein
FOIA Blog
Reporters' Committee
Time's The Page
Wired Threat Level
WSJ's Law Blog
Blog Archives Select Date… December, 2021 November, 2021 October, 2021 September, 2021 August, 2021 July, 2021 June, 2021 May, 2021 April, 2021 March, 2021 February, 2021 January, 2021
Court: Disgruntled frequent fliers can sue
By JOSH GERSTEIN
Attention summer travelers: Those who feel abused or deceived by airline frequent flier programs can pursue lawsuits to vindicate their claims, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg should be allowed to proceed with a lawsuit alleging Northwest Airlines breached common-law duties of good faith and fair dealing when it kicked him out of the airline's WorldPerks frequent flier program in 2008.
A District Court judge said Ginsberg's claim was preempted by the 1978 federal law that deregulated the airline industry.
But the three-judge appeals court panel said in its opinion (posted here) the claim of bad faith in connection with a frequent flier program was sufficiently distinct from the pricing and scheduling of flights that it could go forward.
Ginsberg was a platinum elite level member of WorldPerks before he was terminated from the program. He contends he was kicked out because he "complained too frequently," the appeals court said.
(h/t San Francisco Chronicle via How Appealing)
Ninth Circuit
Frequent Flier Programs