Ide v. British Airways PLC

• Decision Date: 26 March 2021
• Docket Number: 20-CV-3542 (JMF)
• Citation: 529 F.Supp.3d 73
• Parties: Stephen IDE, Karen Steele-Clarke, Donald Dominique, Jr., and Philip Tenn, Plaintiffs, v. BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

529 F.Supp.3d 73

Stephen IDE, Karen Steele-Clarke, Donald Dominique, Jr., and Philip Tenn, Plaintiffs,

v.BRITISH AIRWAYS PLC, Defendant.

20-CV-3542 (JMF)

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

Signed March 26, 2021

Adam E. Polk, Girard Gibbs LLP, Scott M. Grzenczyk, Thomas Watts, Girard Sharp LLP, San Francisco, CA, John G. Albanese, Eleanor Michelle Drake, Berger & Montague P.C., Minneapolis, MN, Shanon Jude Carson, Berger Montague PC, Philadelphia, PA, for Plaintiff Stephen Ide.

Adam E. Polk, Girard Gibbs LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Plaintiffs Karen Steele-Clarke, Donald Dominique, Jr., Philip Tenn.

Colleen M. Gulliver, Keara M. Gordon, DLA Piper US LLP, New York, NY, Haley Dee Torrey, DLA Piper LLP (US), Philadelphia, PA, William Jeffrey Diggs, DLA Piper LLP (US), Short Hills, NJ, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

JESSE M. FURMAN, United States District Judge:

In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic brought travel around the world to a near halt, with devastating consequences for the airline industry. Most, if not all, airlines responded by cancelling flights en masse. Not surprisingly perhaps, litigation has followed, with cases filed against virtually every airline by customers alleging breach of contract and other claims. This case, against British Airways PLC, is among them. Four Plaintiffs whose British Airways flights were canceled bring claims on behalf of a putative class, alleging that British Airways breached the contract governing their tickets by failing to provide them with their preferred remedy: a refund. British Airways now moves to compel arbitration of one Plaintiff's claims and to dismiss the claims of the other three Plaintiffs. ECF No. 31. For reasons that follow, its motion to compel arbitration is GRANTED as unopposed, and its motion to dismiss is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. In particular, the Court concludes that Plaintiffs state a plausible breach-of-contract claim under New York law and that their claim is not preempted by federal law, but their requests for relief other than compensatory damages must be stricken.

BACKGROUND

The following facts, taken from the First Amended Complaint ("Complaint") and documents referenced therein, are assumed to be true for the purposes of this motion. See, e.g. , Hogan v. Fischer , 738 F.3d 509, 513 (2d Cir. 2013).

A. The General Conditions of Carriage

The General Conditions of Carriage ("COC") applies to all customers who buy tickets on British Airways flights and to all flights that British Airways operates. ECF No. 30 ("Compl."), ¶¶ 44-45; see also ECF No. 33-7 ("COC"), at 2, § 2(a). To the extent relevant here, the COC states that if British Airways "cancel[s] a flight," the customer "can choose one of ... three remedies." COC § 9(b)(3). First , British Airways "will," at no additional charge, "carry [the customer] as soon as [it] can to the destination shown on [the customer's] ticket on another of [British Airways's] scheduled services on which a seat is available in the class of service for which [the customer] ha[s] paid the fare." Id. Second , British Airways "will," also at no additional charge, "carry [the customer] to the destination shown on [the customer's] ticket in the class of service for which [the customer] ha[s] paid the fare at a later date at [the customer's] convenience and within the validity period of [the customer's] ticket on another of [British Airways's] scheduled services on which a seat is available." Id. Or third , British Airways "will give or obtain for [the customer] an involuntary fare refund," id. , defined as a refund "equal to the fare and any carrier imposed charges and surcharges, and taxes, fees and charges" the customer has paid. Id. §§ 1, 10(b)(2).

B. The COVID-19 Pandemic

In March 2020, air travel came to a near standstill as part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Compl. ¶¶ 50-53. In response, British Airways made significant reductions to its flight schedules and began cancelling flights "en masse. " Id. ¶¶ 53-54; see also id. ¶ 56. "To limit the number of refunds [British Airways] would be required to issue" pursuant to the COC, "no later than mid-March 2020, [British Airways] modified its website to mislead its customers into accepting vouchers instead of the refunds it was contractually required to make available." Id. ¶ 58. In particular, customers were shown a page with a button labeled "[c]ancel and refund flight(s)," but customers who clicked on that button were taken to an application for a future travel voucher instead. Id. ¶¶ 59-61. Media outlets reported that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, British Airways removed the option for submitting refund claims on its website altogether, id. ¶¶ 67-68, and that the "only way to receive a refund" was to call the airline by telephone, id. ¶ 65. Making matters worse, however, calling was "unavailable" for many customers because the airline "disconnect[ed] a large percentage of calls due to heavy call volume or other reasons." Id. When calls did connect, customers "often" had to "wait for hours on hold before speaking to a live customer service representative," which was "the only way to receive a refund" since British Airways did not implement an automated refund procedure. Id.

C. The Named Plaintiffs

The four named Plaintiffs in this case each purchased roundtrip passage on British Airways flights scheduled for the spring and summer of 2020. Each received notice that one or both of the tickets had been cancelled. Each now seeks a refund.

First , Stephen Ide, a Massachusetts citizen, purchased a roundtrip ticket through the British Airways website to travel from Boston to London on March 25, 2020, and back on April 5, 2020. Id. ¶¶ 9-10. On March 18, 2020, British Airways notified Ide by email that his flight had been cancelled. Id. ¶ 11. Two days later, Ide called the British Airways customer service line "to request a refund," but he was "unable to connect with a customer service representative." Id. ¶ 12. On March 22, 2020, Ide searched online in an effort to find out how to get a refund, but he was able to find information only about obtaining a travel voucher. Id. ¶ 13. He ultimately requested a voucher because it was "the only relief available." Id.

On March 24 and 25, 2020, Ide called British Airways four times to request that the voucher be converted into a refund, but he was disconnected each time. Id. ¶ 14. The next day, he received his voucher by email; it stated that the voucher could be used as "part payment" towards a future booking and that it was redeemable only for flights taken within twelve months of his original booking's first flight. Id. ¶ 15. On April 21, 2020, Ide called British Airways again and spoke with a customer service agent who "denied his request for a refund" because he had already been issued a voucher. Id. ¶ 17. The agent informed Ide that he could "escalate his complaint by contacting Customer Relations and filing a complaint," but Ide was unable to do so because the "website would not permit him to file his complaint." Id.

Second , Karen Steele-Clarke, a Georgia citizen, purchased a roundtrip ticket through the British Airways website to travel between New York and London. Id. ¶¶ 18-19. On May 4, 2020, approximately two months before Steele-Clarke's scheduled departure, British Airways informed her by email that her outbound flight had been cancelled. Id. ¶ 20. She "promptly" filled out a form on the British Airways website that "she believed would allow her to request a refund," but on May 7, 2020, British Airways emailed her a voucher instead. Id. ¶¶ 21-22. She "promptly" responded, explaining that she wanted a refund and had not intended to request a voucher; she made similar requests through other "channels," including direct messages on Twitter. Id. ¶¶ 23-24. British Airways "refused her request[s]," but it did end up refunding her "the extra $114 that she [had] paid for seat selection." Id. ¶ 24.

Third , Philip Tenn, a Florida citizen, purchased a roundtrip ticket through the British Airways website to travel from Tampa to London on March 15, 2020, and back on March 24, 2020. Id. ¶¶ 32-33. British Airways notified Tenn by email that his "return flight from London was canceled." Id. ¶ 34. Tenn filled out "the voucher form" on the British Airways website, but before he received a voucher, he contacted the airline by telephone and email to request a refund. Id. ¶ 35. British Airways "refused to provide him a refund." Id. Tenn contacted British Airways "numerous times" thereafter, but British Airways has never given him a refund. Id. ¶ 36. Nor has he received a voucher. Id. ¶ 37.

Finally , Donald Dominique, Jr., also a Florida citizen, purchased a roundtrip ticket to travel on British Airways from Miami to Paris on March 16, 2020, returning on March 20, 2020. Id. ¶¶ 25-26. Unlike the other named Plaintiffs, Dominique purchased his tickets through Expedia, a third-party travel website. Id. ¶ 26. His return flight was cancelled, and — wanting a refund — he called both British Airways and Expedia "several times." Id. ¶¶ 28, 31. He was never able to reach a British Airways representative. Id. ¶ 29. Finally, in early April 2020, Dominique spoke with an Expedia customer service representative who said that he could not obtain a refund for his canceled flight. Id. ¶ 30. The representative explained that British Airways had only authorized Expedia to give vouchers. Id. Dominique never received either a voucher or a refund. Id. ¶ 31.

MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION

British Airways's first motion — to compel arbitration of Dominique's claims — requires only brief discussion because it is uncontested. See ECF No. 35 ("Pls.’ Opp'n"), at 22. That is for good reason. Alone among the named Plaintiffs, Dominique purchased his ticket through Expedia and, in doing so, agreed to arbitrate on an individual basis "[a]ny and all Claims," including "any Claims ... against ... travel suppliers or any companies offering...