who owns ff miles - the company purchasing the miles or the traveler...any case law to support?

It kind of depends on company policy, I think...But once you sever employment, the miles are most certainly yours to use if you don't care what your former employer thinks about it (can't withold pension, etc.). Had an experience on a corporate AMEX recently, our meeting planner had collected about 200,000 amex points by charging all meeting expenses to her amex. She took another job and the Big Cheese here wanted to recalim those miles for travel by our elected president. AMEX said the miles belonged to the individual (not the company that paid the corporate amex bill).

Fortunately for the assn, I was still on good terms with the individual, and she agreed to let us use about 150,000 of the miles, leaving her with 40-50000 for herself...

I have always been told be the airlines that the person receiving the miles is the one that owns them.