Atlanta, GA, January 5, 2010 – On January 5, 2010, Judge Timothy Batten of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia appointed Kotchen & Low LLP as Co-Lead Interim Class Counsel in MDL 2089, In Re Delta / AirTran Baggage Fee Antitrust Litigation. Kotchen & Low LLP represents a proposed class of airline passengers who paid first checked bag fees to Delta or AirTran Airlines and who allege that these two airlines colluded prior to imposing the fee.
In the order appointing Kotchen & Low LLP and its partner law firms, the Court stated that:
[T]hese firms are well suited to manage this litigation and efficiently litigate this action in the best interest of the putative class. It is particularly significant to the Court that the law firms of Kotchen and Low LLP [and its partner firms] initiated this litigation by filing the first complaint pertaining to this matter. Indeed, these firms have performed all of the substantive work – spanning seven months – in identifying, investigating, and drafting the claims that have now been largely adopted by other attorneys in the tag-along actions. Additionally, these firms have extensive antitrust and class action experience, and have abundant resources to effectively litigate this action.
Kotchen & Low and its partner law firms – Richardson, Patrick, Westbrook & Brickman LLC; McCulley McCluer PLLC; and Conley Griggs LLP – filed the original complaint in this case in May 2009. Eleven cases making virtually identical allegations were filed by numerous other law firms, and they were consolidated before Judge Batten by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in October 2009. The Court appointed Kotchen & Low and its partner law firms despite competing motions from attorneys in the tag-along actions.
