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Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay $78.75 million to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging the carrier caused harm to property owners and residents when one of its aircraft dumped fuel over Southern California during an emergency in January 2020. The settlement, which does not include any admission of wrongdoing by the airline, brings closure to the thousands of people affected by the incident.
Delta Air Lines flight DL 89 was forced to return to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) shortly after takeoff for Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) on January 14, 2020. As part of its emergency procedures to reduce weight, the Boeing 777-200ER released fuel over several communities to ensure a safe landing. Residents later reported property contamination and physical discomfort. This prompted legal action against the airline.
The settlement benefits individuals who owned, rented, or lived in properties located within the affected area. A detailed list of qualifying properties is available on the settlement website, here.
Under the settlement terms, class members will receive cash payments determined by property type and the estimated level of fuel exposure in their area. The net settlement fund will be divided so that 67% goes toward payments for property owners and 33% toward residents. Within each group, funds will be distributed equally among participating claimants (payment amounts will depend on the total number of approved claims).
The agreement also includes a joint declaration from the parties’ experts, which outline laboratory test results that examine whether any jet fuel that reached the ground during the event could be detected or persist beyond the initial contamination. Key settlement deadlines are approaching: class members must submit claims, exclusions, or objections by February 6th. A final approval hearing is scheduled for May 18th (after which payments may be issued if the settlement receives court approval).
Anthonys Take: For affected individuals, this settlement provides a long-awaited resolution nearly six years after the emergency fuel dump. Hopefully, no one suffered any serious maladies and this will end after payments are received.
(Featured Image Credit: Delta Air Lines.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
