Originally Posted by
stevenshev
sbrower,
Without evidence to the contrary, I assume that we agree that the statute is to be interpreted in the plain English meaning of its text, no?
That having been said, let us analyze the type of transaction in question.
It is not a sale of a ticket, as the issuance of the ticket post-dates the completion of the contractual arrangement (ie the transfer of the miles).
It is in fact a sale of miles.
This post made an excellent point, but might be based on an incorrect assumption.
First, I agree that if you transfer miles, and use them to buy magazines, it would not violate the statute I cited.
Second, I don't agree that you use plain English. You use legal rules of interpretation. But I don't think that distinction is important in this particular discussion.
Third, your post talks about "sales of miles." And the OP also referred to that type of transaction. But, is that really the transaction we are discussing? Focusing on UAL (because that was where mahasamatman has most experience and is the airline I was using for some of this discussion), is there even an option to transfer something like 100,000 miles (not a small amount, but enough to buy a decent ticket) to somoene else? In other words, can a person "sell" miles, and have them transferred to someone else's Mileage Plus account, without having any involvement in whether the miles are used for a ticket or a magazine? [I am not an expert on UAL and will appreciate a good response.]
But, if that option does not exist, then I do not accept that you could avoid liability by "selling" the right to control 100,000 of your miles, this week, and then ordering an award in the name of the buyer, next week.