Air Passengers Rights Regulations in US Courts. EU Regulation 261/2004. Ingrid Koning

Transcription

1 Source: Air Passengers Rights Regulations in US Courts Ingrid Koning 24 november 2015 EU Regulation 261/ november Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights - EU is global frontrunner: far-reaching rights care and assistance rerouting or reimbursement standardised compensation of 250, 400 or Wide scope. It applies to: passengers (EU and non-eu) Community carriers non-community carriers on outbound flights 1

2 A dual enforcement system Public enforcement - Article 16: Member states should lay down rules on effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions - Member states ensure and supervise the general compliance by their airlines and designate an appropriate body (the so-called National Enforcement Bodies or NEB s) Private enforcement - Passengers can claim compensation in national (civil) courts - No express provision in the regulation, however: See consideration 22 of the preamble and article 15 (2), though ECJ Case C-83/10 (Rodriguez) and Case C-12/11 (McDonagh) Evidenced by many civil (small claims) court proceedings throughout the EU In any case: there is no explicit restriction European member states courts in the regulation 24 november Lozano v United Airlines Holding Inc ; Polinovsky v Deutsche Lufthansa AG Giannopolous v Iberia Lineas Aéreas España SA; Kruger v Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd; Volodarskiy v Delta Airlines Inc Class actions - the claimants in these cases represent a class of all passengers in the US who were delayed, cancelled or denied boarding on certain flights with certain carriers 24 november

3 Much depends on the construction of the claim Application of Regulation 261/2004 through the contract Polinovsky v Deutsche Lufthansa AG Giannopoulos v Iberia Líneas Aéreas España SA Application of the Regulation through the law applicable to the contract (according to the conflict of laws rules) Kruger v Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd Direct application of Regulation 261/2004 Lozano v United continental Holding Inc Volodrasky v Delta Delta Airlines Inc 24 november Consequences Who benefits? Who pays the price? Is it legitimate? Will the playing field eventually level outs? 24 november

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5 The External Effects of EU Law Panel: The Impact of European Law on the International Legal Order Outline presentation dr. (Ingrid) Koning Utrecht University The Effect of European Transport Regulations on third Countries Air Passengers Rights Regulations in US Courts Traditionally, international transport is primarily regulated on an international law level. This is true for nearly every transport mode and for public and private law rules alike. Since the mid-eighties, the European Union has gradually but extensively added a European law dimension to this international plane. The effects of this Regulatory framework outside the EU are vast and kaleidoscopic in nature - they occur (either deliberately or inadvertently) in many ways and on many levels. This presentation will focus one specific effect (class action law suits) of one particular European Regulation (Regulation 261/2004) in a single country (the US). Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 is by far the most famous (some might say infamous) European air passenger regulation. It is heavily litigated in the courts of the European Union member states and it has generated a large amount of references for preliminary rulings for the European Union Court of Justice. The reason for this abundance in legal proceedings are on the one hand the tangible rights the regulation grants passengers standardized compensation in the event of cancelation and delay coupled with a reluctant stance toward the regulation on the side of at least a large part of the airline industry. In many cases, the only way for passengers to obtain the compensation under the regulation is by forcing the airlines hands: by claiming compensation in court or by lodging a formal complaint with the authorities responsible for the public enforcement of the regulation. Between the springs of 2013 and 2015, something interesting occurred on the other side of the Atlantic. American passengers brought lawsuits before US District Courts (and the second and seventh Circuit Courts of Appeal) invoking Regulation 261/2004 in order to obtain standardized compensation for delays and cancelations. Some of these claims failed, but not all, depending - for an important part on their construction, but also the application of (State Law) conflict of laws theories and the interpretation of the European Regulation by American judges. What are the legal parameters and backgrounds of these claims? Why did they fail or succeed? What are the consequences? And what do they signify for America s own regulatory framework for passenger protection? The presentation (and draft-paper, currently under construction) follows this string of cases in order to give (a beginning of) an answer to these questions.