Aviation & Space Law

Court filing seeks information about missing Malaysia Air flight

AHMAD FAIZAL YAHYA / Shutterstock.com Updated: In an opening salvo in what is expected to be a barrage of litigation over the disappearance of Malaysia Air Flight 370 earlier this month, a Chicago law firm has made an Illinois court filing seeking information that could help explain what happened to…

Mar 25, 2014 10:40 PM CDT

Potential liability for missing Malaysia Air flight depends, in part, on finding plane

AHMAD FAIZAL YAHYA / Shutterstock.com Updated: More than two weeks after a Malaysia Airlines flight disappeared en route to Beijing, it is now thought to be at the bottom of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia. All 227 passengers and 12 crew members are presumed dead. What happened and…

Mar 25, 2014 4:10 PM CDT

Drone operator gets $10K fine tossed

A drone operator fined $10,000 for allegedly flying his unmanned craft too low has won dismissal of the fine. Administrative Law Judge Patrick Geraghty ruled on Thursday that the Federal Aviation Administration could not ban commercial, low-flying drones based on a policy statement adopted outside the formal rule-making process, Reuters…

Mar 7, 2014 7:21 PM CST

Suit says NASA was ‘recklessly negligent and bizarre’ for failing to investigate Mars rock

The author of a book on alien life is asking a judge to compel NASA to take a closer look at the unusual Mars rock that is said to look like a jelly doughnut. Rhawn Joseph identifies himself as an astrobiologist in the petition for a writ of mandamus filed…

Jan 29, 2014 3:22 PM CST

SCOTUS overturns pilot’s $1.2M defamation award against airline for mental instability report

The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed a $1.2 million award to a pilot who sued over an airline’s report to the Transportation Security Administration that managers were concerned about his mental stability and he may be armed. The court ruled (PDF) against William Hoeper, who sued Air Wisconsin for making…

Jan 27, 2014 5:10 PM CST

Kramer Levin forms drone practice group; one client is accused of flying model plane too low

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel sees opportunity in the “uncharted legal territory” surrounding commercial drones. The issue was in the news earlier this month when Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told 60 Minutes of plans for delivery drones. In a press release, Kramer Levin says it has created an Unmanned Aircraft…

Dec 19, 2013 5:35 PM CST

SCOTUS considers defamation claim by pilot who sued airline over mentally unstable warning

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday considered a defamation claim by a pilot who sued Air Wisconsin for telling the Transportation Security Administration that he was mentally unstable. Pilot William Hoeper is seeking to uphold a defamation award of more than $1.4 million, report the Los Angeles Times, the Washington…

Dec 10, 2013 2:26 PM CST

Amazon’s delivery drone plan presents ‘a legal minefield’

Updated: Amazon’s plans for delivery drones, announced Sunday on 60 Minutes, are more publicity stunt than reality, according to an op-ed in the Guardian. Delivery drones are “a legal minefield,” the article says. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos acknowledged in the 60 Minutes interview that the most difficult challenge will be…

Dec 2, 2013 2:50 PM CST

Airline merger deal OK’d by Justice Department

The U.S. Justice Department has approved a settlement that would allow the merger of American Airlines and U.S. Airways. The deal calls for the two airlines to sell 104 takeoff and landing slots at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, and 34 slots at La Guardia Airport in New York,…

Nov 13, 2013 3:40 PM CST

Travelers may sue airline for alleged sex-toy prank, 5th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit against an airline for allegedly taping a sex toy to the top of a checked bag should survive a motion to dismiss. The suit for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and negligence is not pre-empted by an airline…

Nov 12, 2013 11:50 AM CST

‘Chaos & fear’ at LA airport as TSA agent is slain; suspect in custody

The Los Angeles airport looked like a set for a movie on Friday morning as a gunman who may have been a ticketed passenger fatally shot a Transportation Security Agent in one of the terminals and onlookers scrambled to avoid gunshots fired from an assault rifle. “An individual came into…

Nov 1, 2013 8:49 PM CDT

Suit says those with most United frequent flier miles pay more for redeemed hotels and flights

Those with the most frequent flier miles in their United Airlines accounts are charged higher redemption rates for hotels and flights, contends a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in New Jersey. Seeking class action status, plaintiffs Robert Gordon and Melissa Chan said they found out about the double-standard when…

Oct 10, 2013 6:45 PM CDT

Justice Department sues to block proposed merger of American Airlines with US Airways

The U.S. Justice Department has filed an antitrust suit in an effort to block the $11 billion merger of American Airlines with U.S. Airways. The merger would create the world’s largest airline and hamper competition, the Justice Department says. The Associated Press, Bloomberg News, the New York Times DealBook blog,…

Aug 13, 2013 3:18 PM CDT

Asiana drops planned suit against TV station that aired fake pilot names

Updated: Asiana Airlines has announced it will not sue a California television station that broadcast fake names of the pilots in the crash of Flight 214 that killed three passengers. Airline spokespersons had announced Monday that the airline had decided to sue KTVU-TV to “strongly respond to its racially discriminatory…

Jul 16, 2013 3:29 PM CDT

Former surgeon charged with choking and sexually harassing flight attendants

Former Houston hand surgeon Michael Brown is planning a change of plea on federal charges that he choked a flight attendant and threatened to strip naked on a flight from London to Miami last January. Brown, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, is scheduled for a change of…

Jul 11, 2013 7:20 PM CDT