Originally Posted by LeisureFirst

There are EU regs on this (which I don't have time to dig up right now but I do recall quite clearly). You do not have to report the loss immediately, i.e. at the arrival airport, whatever the airline may tell you differently. (That's not to say it's not advisable to do so, but that can be hard late at night in a foreign airport.) But you do have a time limit and I think it is a week. So I would report the loss now - don't wait until you get back.

Presumably you are scrapping your old case? ("Do you think I still have a case?" is an interesting way of putting it. ) If so, I would photograph the ruined case from multiple angles as evidence.

Having said that, I think the main problem here is that you're dealing with U2 and I'd be amazed if you get anything out of them without taking them to court, whatever the rules might say.