Originally Posted by
spamkiller
I am not a lawyer, but did reasonably well in my contracts class. One of the forms of damages could be "Compensatory damages" which damages”) cover the loss the non-breaching party incurred as a result of the breach of contract.
I believe a hotel room would be included in that. Defendant may argue that under the COC, their only obligation is only to attempt to get you to your destination, but the extent of their efforts would be another issue. If there was a mechanical issue that then turned into an ATC issue, then I would argue that it is a mechanical issue, just as their blaming weather in the morning for a cancelled flight in the evening. But for the mechanical issue, there would be no ATC issue.
But couldn't the airline then argue that it's a foreseeable risk? Mechanical, ATC, and Weather delays are certainly not uncommon enough events to be considered a unforeseeable event,and that if you have expensive/important plans than you have a contingency plan or at least some time built in?
Not saying it's fair, but I imagine that would be the defense.