Supreme Court to hear frequent-flier case:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/05/20/supreme-court-northwest-airlines-frequent-flier/2326529/A dispute between a frequent flier and an airline is heading to the Supreme Court.
The court announced Monday it would hear the case called Northwest Airlines vs. Ginsburg, which is basically about what justifies an airline dropping a traveler from its frequent-flier program.
The airline revoked Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg's membership in the WorldPerks Platinum Elite program in June 2008. He had complained 24 times in eight months about Northwest's service and sought "compensation over and above (Northwest's) guidelines," according to the airline's written argument.
Ginsberg, who flies 75 times a year as a lecturer, filed a federal class-action lawsuit seeking $5 million, saying he was dropped without adequate cause. He acknowledged complaining about getting bumped from flights, but not every time.
"Rabbi Ginsberg appealed solely with respect to the claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing," Ginsberg's written argument said.
But Northwest, which is now part of Delta Air Lines, argued that the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 prevents lawsuits governing "price, route or service of an air carrier."
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A U.S. District Court dismissed Ginsberg's case, but the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the case, saying that Ginsberg could argue whether the airline acted in good faith.
Now Northwest is asking the Supreme Court to explain how much freedom airlines have to set their own policies under the Airline Deregulation Act. The trade group Airlines for America supported Northwest in the case.
"The prospect of state and local regulations that affect airline prices and services, subject to the shifting political whims of each locality airlines serve, is precisely the danger that led Congress to adopt the ADA's broad preemption provision," the group said in a written argument.
The Supreme Court will hear the case in the fall term that begins in October.