Atlanta, GA, August 3, 2015 – Following an extensive investigation by an independent expert into numerous instances of discovery misconduct exposed by Plaintiffs’ counsel, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia entered an order today sanctioning Delta Air Lines. The Court found that Delta has committed “colossal blunders,” and that Delta’s discovery practices were “inexcusable,” “ineffective, inefficient, and inept.” These practices included failures by Delta to search, produce, and preserve responsive materials, as well as false certifications by Delta’s counsel regarding the completeness of productions.
The Court awarded Plaintiffs’ over $2.7 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses for their efforts uncovering Delta’s misconduct.
In the case, Plaintiffs allege that competitors Delta and AirTran Airways conspired to impose first bag fees, in violation of Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1-2. Plaintiffs seek to represent a class of plaintiffs defined as follows:
All persons or entities in the United States and its territories that directly paid Delta and/or AirTran one or more first bag fees on domestic flights from December 5, 2008 through the present (and continuing until the effects of Delta’s and AirTran’s anticompetitive conspiracy ceases).
A copy of the decision can be found here. News coverage can be found here.