Capdeville v. Southwest Airlines Co

On December 30, 2022, Eric F. Capdeville (“Capdeville” or “Plaintiff”), on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated, represented by Matthew B. Moreland of Jim S. Hall & Associates, filed a contract lawsuit against Southwest Airlines Co (“Southwest” or “Defendant”), seeking specific relief with damages for alleged breach of its contract of carriage by failing to provide refunds within seven days for canceled tickets purchased with credit cards. This case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, with Judge Jay C. Zainey presiding.

In the complaint, the plaintiff stated, “Southwest does not sell airline tickets on any third-party global distribution platform, requiring all customers to purchase directly from Southwest whether it be through its website or by calling a Southwest booking line to make a reservation.”

The plaintiff then alleged, “Beginning Friday, December 23, 2022, Southwest Airlines began cancelling flights nationwide blaming the failure on a weather-driven issue. Subsequently, Southwest continued to cancel flights blaming weather through Wednesday, December 28, 2022 resulting in more than 14,500 flights cancelled since the prior Friday. Wednesday, December 28, 2022 alone Southwest cancelled 2500 flights. Southwest CEO Bob Jordan confirmed the airline needed to upgrade its legacy systems. The Department of Transportation also confirmed that the cancellations came about as a result of Southwest’s decision and actions.”

Plaintiff further alleged, “Southwest’s response to the internally created crisis was to suggest customers could submit receipts for flight cancellations from December 24, 2022 through January 2, 2023 for consideration reimbursement.”

The plaintiff also alleged, “Southwest’s Contract of Carriage mandates refunds in this situation as well as full compensation for incurred costs and resultant cancellations for the failure of the carriage contract.”

The plaintiff then alleged, “Southwest’s failure to provide prompt refunds for canceled flights violates not only its own Contract of Carriage, but also federal law.”

Plaintiff further alleged, “On or about October 10, 2022, Plaintiff purchased two tickets for travel Tuesday, December 27, 2022 from New Orleans, Louisiana (MSY) to Portland, Oregan (PDX) for himself and his daughter, which included a connecting flight to Pheonix, Arizona (PHX) (the ‘Trip’) through Southwest Airlines.”

The plaintiff also alleged, “Prior to departing Plaintiff checked and saw the news that thousands of flights had been cancelled by Southwest Airlines. Upon checking, he confirmed that his Southwest flight had been cancelled and his reservations and stay in Portland would be lost without reimbursement.”

The plaintiff additionally alleged, “Due to Defendant’s cancellation of their flights, Plaintiff, and all putative class members cannot use their airline tickets through no fault of their own and they are not getting the benefit of their bargain with Defendant.”

Plaintiff presented two claims for relief, including alleged breach of contract and redhibition.

In the prayer for relief, the plaintiff requested an award of actual compensatory damages, or in the alternative, specific performance of the refund provisions of the contract of carriage. The plaintiff also requested pre-judgment interest and interest pursuant to redhibition.

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