US: Antitrust lawyer recommends Delta sanctions for ‘colossal blunders’

An antitrust lawyer has submitted a 117-page recommendations to a judge overseeing a lawsuit accusing Delta Air Lines of colluding with competitor AirTran to fix prices and charge bag fees.

According to reports, attorney Bruce Brown has recommended to a federal judge that Delta pay $1.8 million for the company’s failures in the lawsuit, which include allegations the airline destroyed, misplaced or failed to hand over crucial documents related to the case. Delta’s behavior was described as “colossal” and “negligent or grossly negligent” in the report.

Brown found, however, that Delta did not find that Delta willfully engaged in misconduct.

Delta was sued by a potential class of airline passengers accusing the company of colluding with AirTran to implement their first-bag fees within a week of each other in 2008, say reports. US District Judge Timothy Batten has already fined Delta more than $4.7 million, to be paid to lawyers representing the potential class, for failure to preserve documents related to the alleged collusion between the company and AirTran.

Full content: Daily Report Online

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.