I was on a delta flight scheduled to depart at 1:55 pm from Florida to New york on April 15th but the flight has been delayed to 330pm due to a plane issue. After that delay we boarded and were cleared for take off but there was a burning smell on the plane and everyone was ordered off the plane due to a mechanical problem with wiring. The flight has then been scheduled to depart at 8PM but the pilots refused to fly that route because it was an inconvenience. Finally, the next flight was at 910 where we took off at around 10pm. That is over an 8 hour delay due to an error by the carrier. I have contacted Delta, my credit card company, and my insurance company and there is nothing anybody is willing to do regarding compensating me for my time and suffering. Is there any legal action that can be taken or can something be done otherwise?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to Question: New York Already Tried: Contacted the airline, my insurance company, and my credit card company with no resolve.
Hello, and thank you for contacting Just Answer. The honest answer, is maybe, but it would be an up-hill battle. You could certainly try a suit for Breach of Contract resulting in damages to you. The argument would be that you contracted Delta to fly you to a specific destination by a specific time, they agreed to do so and you paid them for the fare in advance. Subsequently, due to their own negligence they failed to provide the promised service, thus breaching the agreement. That argument sounds simple enough, and is a basic breach of contract argument. Here is where it would get tricky: when you booked the ticket you likely had to agree to a number of terms and conditions that you likely did not read, and I would be surprised if one of those terms and conditions doesn't limit their liability in the event that a delay happens or something of that nature. What it would come down to then, is whether or not a court believes that they breached their agreement with you, and whether the liability clause that is likely present in their "Terms and conditions" of the ticket purchase protects them.In any event, a breach of contract argument is one that might be available, but it would require you to sue the airline for breach in court, and dealing with all of the things that go along with a suit (namely time and money). As this is an informational site only, prior to taking any legal action, I would strongly encourage you to consult with a local attorney and have them assist in the filing of a suit if, after a full review of the facts in person with an attorney, a suit seems appropriate. Also, you can seek assistance with the national organization flyersrights.org, who are an advocacy group for airline passenger's rights. They can be reached at:http://flyersrights.org/I hope this helps, and please do not hesitate to ask any follow up questions by clicking "Reply". Otherwise, please remember to click the ACCEPT button so that I can receive credit for my work. Take care
Thank you very much for your timely answer. Other then a breach of contract lawsuit would there be a possibly of a class action against the company or would a lawyer take this case on a contingency fee?Any other options I might have regarding this manner or am I stuck in an unjust circle here?
Those are good follow up questions. First, a class-action is always a possibility, but in order to qualify for a "class" sufficient in size (there are rules regarding certification of a class as opposed to an individual lawsuit), one flight probably isn't going to cut it, it would require more of a pattern of breachs so that enough people are effected to raise the need for a class action. That would certainly be something to discuss with an attorney in person. As for an attorney taking a case like this on contingency, that honestly depends on the individual attorney. There may be an attorney that would take a breach of contract case like this on contingency, and it is worth asking around, but my hunch would be no for a few reasons. When an attorney takes a case on contingency, they are assuming all of the financial risk for a claim. As such, contingency cases are generally reserved either for things like medical malpractice, where the potential payout is large and justifies the risk, or where there is a statute that specifically calls for attorneys fees if you win. In a case like the one you are describibng, you are probably not talking about a huge damages number, and there is no specific statute that would grant attorneys fees, making it less likely that an attorney will take the case on a purely contingency basis. Now, again, that determination is ultimately made by each individual attorney, so you may very well find someone, but do not be surprised if it is difficult to do so. In New York, a good place to start looking for an attorney is the New York State Bar Association at: http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Need_To_Hire_A_Lawyer_I hope this helps further, and let me know if you have any more related questions. Otherwise, please remember to click the ACCEPT button so that I can receive credit for my work. Take care
Experience: Licensed to practice law, I have experience in dealing with a wide variety of legal issues.