Originally Posted by dlandz

Yes I agree that a civil suit against the airline would be difficult. I step back on what I said earlier, the common contract law may have the only legal precedence in court against a company. However, you could sue the Department of Transportation if they fail to enforce their regulations (United might voluntarily enter that suit on DOT's side). If you win against DOT, it would put the burden back on United of how they wish to remedy the complaints levied against them (pay the fine, or resolve the complaint to the equivalent of the cancelled ticket, or sue DOT themselves over whether they have the legal authority to impose such regulations)