SAN FRANCISCO (Legal Newsline) – Two Contra Costa County residents are taking one of the nation’s largest airlines to court over its cancellation policy.
Jean Shrem and Marni Fischer, on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, filed a class action lawsuit on Oct. 2 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Southwest Airlines Co., citing of breach of contract, fraud, negligence and unjust enrichment.
According to the complaint, on or about Aug. 24, 2014, the plaintiffs allegedly purchased tickets from Southwest which they later canceled and exchanged for credit for future travel. The deadline to use the credits was allegedly through to Aug. 23. On Feb. 21, the plaintiffs purchased two new round-trip tickets from Southwest for $784 in cash and $16 in Southwest credit from the prior canceled tickets. The complaint states that Southwest supposedly makes it known that they provide a “no fee” policy for ticket changes or cancellations. The plaintiffs once again could not make the trip and canceled the tickets on June 12. They then tried to use the credits from that recently canceled trip for a future travel and was told that Southwest had allegedly forfeited their $800.40 based on the expiration date from the previous $16 credit. They allege that they did not receive a written notice about said forfeiture.
They are now seeking a jury by trial and are suing for economic damages, specific performance and restitution damages, punitive damages, attorney costs and expenses, and any other rewards as deemed proper by the court. They are represented by Peter Fredman of the Law Office of Peter Fredman, PC in Berkeley, Calif.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California case number 4:15-cv-04567-DMR