Litigation Lawyer Sues Delta Over Weather Delays and Wins.....
Sep 15, 2008, 6:50 pm
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Litigation Lawyer Sues Delta Over Weather Delays and Wins.....
http://information.travel.aol.com/ne...775x1200535616
On Feb. 21, 2008, Mitchell Berns heard every flier's two least favorite words: weather related.
Citing snow, Delta Airlines was canceling his flight from Las Vegas to New York City and rescheduling him for a redeye connecting in Boston. With 47% of all delays so far in 2008 caused by weather (up 5% from last year), most fliers can relate. And they know that normally this story ends with a bleary-eyed tale recounted the next day at the water cooler. Not this time. It ends in court, with our traveler $838 richer.
Berns, 55, is a securities litigator with Lane Sash & Larrabee in White Plains, N.Y. On that night he was flying home from a romantic getaway with his wife, who was pregnant with twins. Seeing that other airlines' planes were still departing as scheduled, Berns asked Delta to refund his ticket so that he could book one of those flights. They told him (politely, as he recalls) that weather-related cancellations or delays are not the airline's fault and do not come with a refund.
Berns checked the National Weather Service report. It said snow that day was expected at five the next morning -- hours after his flight was scheduled to land. He and several other passengers from his Delta flight easily booked a JetBlue flight departing at the same time. His tab: $938. He landed at J.F.K. on schedule.
Back at home, Berns did what any consumer with $15 (in New York City) and a working knowledge of English (or Spanish, in most states) can do: He filed a small-claims suit against Delta for $938. Delta did not show up to defend itself, so on June 12 he won a default judgment.
When a legal analyst from the airline called him two weeks later to negotiate a payment, he declined an offer of frequent-flier miles ("Confederate currency," in his words) and made a counteroffer: If you pay me within two weeks, I'll knock $100 off. Delta agreed but asked for a confidentiality agreement. Berns said they couldn't have both, and Delta took the discount. (A Delta spokesperson did not respond to repeated requests for comment.)
"The lesson is, Don't let them bully you with bogus cancellations," says Berns. The whole thing took him about four hours, he recalls, resulting in earnings of less than half his hourly billing rate. "But I'd do it again," he says. "That's how good it felt."
On Feb. 21, 2008, Mitchell Berns heard every flier's two least favorite words: weather related.
Citing snow, Delta Airlines was canceling his flight from Las Vegas to New York City and rescheduling him for a redeye connecting in Boston. With 47% of all delays so far in 2008 caused by weather (up 5% from last year), most fliers can relate. And they know that normally this story ends with a bleary-eyed tale recounted the next day at the water cooler. Not this time. It ends in court, with our traveler $838 richer.
Berns, 55, is a securities litigator with Lane Sash & Larrabee in White Plains, N.Y. On that night he was flying home from a romantic getaway with his wife, who was pregnant with twins. Seeing that other airlines' planes were still departing as scheduled, Berns asked Delta to refund his ticket so that he could book one of those flights. They told him (politely, as he recalls) that weather-related cancellations or delays are not the airline's fault and do not come with a refund.
Berns checked the National Weather Service report. It said snow that day was expected at five the next morning -- hours after his flight was scheduled to land. He and several other passengers from his Delta flight easily booked a JetBlue flight departing at the same time. His tab: $938. He landed at J.F.K. on schedule.
Back at home, Berns did what any consumer with $15 (in New York City) and a working knowledge of English (or Spanish, in most states) can do: He filed a small-claims suit against Delta for $938. Delta did not show up to defend itself, so on June 12 he won a default judgment.
When a legal analyst from the airline called him two weeks later to negotiate a payment, he declined an offer of frequent-flier miles ("Confederate currency," in his words) and made a counteroffer: If you pay me within two weeks, I'll knock $100 off. Delta agreed but asked for a confidentiality agreement. Berns said they couldn't have both, and Delta took the discount. (A Delta spokesperson did not respond to repeated requests for comment.)
"The lesson is, Don't let them bully you with bogus cancellations," says Berns. The whole thing took him about four hours, he recalls, resulting in earnings of less than half his hourly billing rate. "But I'd do it again," he says. "That's how good it felt."
Sep 15, 2008, 6:55 pm
#2
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Hilarious! I love it.
And, no, I don't care that weather really isn't Delta's fault, just nice to see that sometimes common sense wins. I mean, why wasn't Delta taking off if nearly identical flights from other airlines were?
Great story.
And, no, I don't care that weather really isn't Delta's fault, just nice to see that sometimes common sense wins. I mean, why wasn't Delta taking off if nearly identical flights from other airlines were?
Great story.
Sep 15, 2008, 7:02 pm
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So Delta's value of hushing this up was $100 or less? DL has paid much more than that in hush-money before, but this wasn't worth it to them so they took the $100 discount and ran for it?
Interesting story.
Interesting story.
Sep 15, 2008, 7:24 pm
#4
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and hats off to the attorney for not going stupid and asking for 38 million dollars in damages. ^
The more people get reasonable in these cases the more reasonable the cases become. @:-)
The more people get reasonable in these cases the more reasonable the cases become. @:-)
Sep 15, 2008, 7:28 pm
#5
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Actually, the case and judgment amount are independent, although this was small claims and Delta didn't register it on its radar.
Sep 15, 2008, 7:54 pm
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How much time did this guy waste to save so little? He could have changed the flight with a change fee.
But what do you expect from a man who is willing to father twins at age 55? He will be 74 at their high school graduation and 78 when they finish college. (Both my parents passed away before reaching 74.) What kind of active father will they have in their teens, or in young adulthood?
This guy is no hero in my book.
But what do you expect from a man who is willing to father twins at age 55? He will be 74 at their high school graduation and 78 when they finish college. (Both my parents passed away before reaching 74.) What kind of active father will they have in their teens, or in young adulthood?
This guy is no hero in my book.
Sep 15, 2008, 8:04 pm
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...But what do you expect from a man who is willing to father twins at age 55? He will be 74 at their high school graduation and 78 when they finish college. (Both my parents passed away before reaching 74.) What kind of active father will they have in their teens, or in young adulthood?
This guy is no hero in my book.
This guy is no hero in my book.
Sep 15, 2008, 8:09 pm
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I'm sure that the DL apologists will disagree, but I think it's nice to see DL called on the carpet for their cancellations of convenience! ^
We can only hope that others follow Berns' example.
We can only hope that others follow Berns' example.
Sep 15, 2008, 8:39 pm
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"Litigation Lawyer"?
Are there other kinds of lawyers? Ones that don't deal with litigation? 
Oh, wait... those are called "unemployed," aren't they?
Oh, wait... those are called "unemployed," aren't they?
Sep 15, 2008, 8:53 pm
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Yes, there are other kinds of lawyers. Some lawyers go years -- sometimes even go through their entire legal career -- not having dealt with a single litigation matter on their own.
Sep 15, 2008, 9:02 pm
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Originally Posted by Delta's Contract of Carriage
In the event of a force majeure, Delta may cancel, divert, or delay any flight without any liability except to refund your ticket in the original form of payment in accordance with Rule 260 of these conditions of carriage. As used in this rule, “force majeure” means actual, threatened or reported:
(1) Weather conditions or acts of God
(1) Weather conditions or acts of God
If I were an airline agent, I'd be thrilled to have a passenger asking for a refund during an irregular operation. One less person to deal with later.
Sep 15, 2008, 9:56 pm
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What about DL gave accepted apologizes for any inconvenience causing the flights has been delayed due to snowstorm. I think DL should be cancelled the flight immediately. Its should not their faults but, it's very wrong what happened the pregnant woman were trying fly home. I think DL will changes the rules during the snowstorm but, the flights should being cancelled immediately. Its will not to be guarantees from DL. DL will given voucher for future flight.
Sep 15, 2008, 11:03 pm
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There are corporate lawyers, in-house lawyers, real estate lawyers, patent prosecution lawyers . . . all sorts of lawyers that don't have litigation as part of their job description.
Sep 15, 2008, 11:32 pm
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How much time did this guy waste to save so little? He could have changed the flight with a change fee.
But what do you expect from a man who is willing to father twins at age 55? He will be 74 at their high school graduation and 78 when they finish college. (Both my parents passed away before reaching 74.) What kind of active father will they have in their teens, or in young adulthood?
This guy is no hero in my book.
But what do you expect from a man who is willing to father twins at age 55? He will be 74 at their high school graduation and 78 when they finish college. (Both my parents passed away before reaching 74.) What kind of active father will they have in their teens, or in young adulthood?
This guy is no hero in my book.
Sep 15, 2008, 11:47 pm
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I guess they mean a trial attorney. There are lots of transactional attorneys who never see the inside of a courtroom (in a professional capacity).