American Airlines Sues Sabre For 11 Years Of Legal Fees

Lawyers who represented American Airlines filed a lawsuit in federal court against Sabre Corp for fees associated with 11 years of litigation.

According to Reuters, the lawyers representing the carrier filed the complaint in a Manhattan federal court that it deserves “substantial” legal fees after winning a $1 antitrust verdict at trial in May.

On Friday, law firm O’Melveny & Myers filed a lawsuit on behalf of American Airlines, saying the Texas-based global distribution system should pay American’s fees.

Those fees could amount to at least tens of millions of dollars, reported Skift. The 11-year litigation included two trials and an appeal. The filing did not identify an amount, but a O’Melveny partner previously said in court that the fees were “very, very substantial.”

Related: American Airlines CEO Testifies At Antitrust Trial

The suit was over practices Sabre used to force airlines to use its services, and prevent carriers from reaching out to travel agents and business travelers more directly. American inherited the case when it acquired US Airways in 2013. The result in May found that Sabre’s practices did not cause American Airlines any financial harm.

Friday’s filing shows that the two companies tried to resolve the fee dispute without involving the court but did not reach an agreement.