Delta Can Sue CrowdStrike,Stranded Passengers Can't–They're Asking Supreme Court
5 hours ago
- Passengers stranded by the July 2024 CrowdStrike outage are petitioning the Supreme Court to allow their lawsuit against CrowdStrike, which was dismissed under the Airline Deregulation Act.
- The Airline Deregulation Act preempts state law claims related to airline services such as ticketing, boarding, and baggage handling, even when the defendant is not an airline.
- There is a circuit split: the Fifth Circuit broadly interprets 'service' to include ticketing and transportation, while the Ninth Circuit narrowly focuses on pricing and schedules.
- The passengers argue that CrowdStrike's software testing and deployment are too remote from airline services to trigger preemption, but courts have treated common law duties as state regulation.
- Delta Airlines’ separate contract claims against CrowdStrike were allowed to proceed, highlighting a distinction between direct contractual obligations and passenger tort claims.
- The Supreme Court has declined to resolve this circuit split for decades, and the chances of granting review are estimated at 10% due to limited direct impact on passenger vendor lawsuits.
- Critics argue for statutory passenger rights similar to EU261, noting that current legal frameworks leave consumers with inadequate protections despite airline deregulation benefits.
- The case highlights broader issues of vendor liability, software testing standards, and the divide between federal preemption and state tort law.