UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
Karla Maree et al. v. Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Case No. 8:20-cv-00885-MWF-MRW
If you purchased tickets for travel on a Lufthansa flight scheduled to fly to or from the United States between January 1, 2020 and August 16, 2021 and your flight was cancelled by Lufthansa, you may be entitled for benefits from a class action settlement.
Case Update: September 19, 2023
An official Notice of Appeal has been filed in this case and accordingly no payments will be made to any claimants until the appeal is resolved. If you have received a notice from the settlement administrator concerning your claim, please do not delay in addressing the issues with your claim in the timeline set forth in the communication from the administrator. Once the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled on the appeal, this website will be update to address any developments concerning the settlement and distribution.
A Settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit. In the lawsuit, Plaintiffs allege that Deutsche Lufthansa AG (“Lufthansa”) breached its General Conditions of Carriage (“GCC”) by failing to refund them for flights cancelled due to Covid-19 at all or within a reasonable amount of time. Lufthansa maintains that it did not breach the GCC, that it did provide refunds within a reasonable amount of time particularly given Covid-19’s impact on Lufthansa’s operations and the airline industry generally, and it denies that it did anything wrong. The United States District Court for the Central District of California, which is overseeing this lawsuit, has not decided who is right. Instead, the parties agreed to a compromise.
The Settlement only impacts you if you are a Settlement Class Member. A Settlement Class Member is a United States resident who purchased tickets for travel on a Lufthansa flight scheduled to operate to or from the United States between January 1, 2020 and August 16, 2021 and whose flights were cancelled by Lufthansa (the “Settlement Class”). Settlement Class Members consist of two categories of individuals: (1) Settlement Class Members who have received refunds from Lufthansa for Qualifying Flights; and (2) Settlement Class Members who have not, to date, received a refund for Qualifying Flights.
Under the Settlement, Settlement Class Members who have already received a refund from Lufthansa and who submit a Claim Form will have the option to elect either (1) the Cash Option: $10, or (2) the Voucher Option: a Voucher for future travel with Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines, Austrian Airlines, or Brussels Airlines in the amount of $45. Settlement Class Members who have not, to date, received a refund (but are entitled to one) can request a refund on the Claim Form and, upon submission of a valid Claim Form, Lufthansa will (i) provide them with a full refund, and (ii) provide an additional Interest Payment of one percent (1%) of the refund due. The Cash Option, Voucher Option, and Interest Payment are subject to a cap of $3.5 million (which is inclusive of all Attorneys’ Fees, expenses, service awards, and Claims Administration Expenses). Refunds available for Settlement Class Members that had not yet received a refund are not subjected to the cap. If the value of the total Valid Claims exceeds the Net Claim Amount, Settlement Class Members who submitted a Valid Claim will receive a cash or voucher amount payout on a pro rata basis until the total Net Claim Amount has been paid.
The Proposed Settlement incorporates a minimum floor of $500,000 to the Net Claims Amount (“Minimum Floor”). Any amount not directly claimed through the claims process from the Minimum Floor would be paid on a pro rata basis to those Settlement Class Members who have submitted claims for either the $10 cash payment or $45 voucher or 1% interest paid to Open Tickets until the Minimum Floor is met.
To obtain any Settlement Consideration, you must submit a valid Claim Form by the Claims Deadline – no later than July 24, 2023.
Whether you act or not, your legal rights as a Settlement Class Member are affected by the Settlement. Your rights and options–and the deadlines to exercise them–are explained in this Class Notice. Please read the following Class Notice carefully in its entirety. Defined terms have the meanings in the Settlement Agreement.
SETTLEMENT CLASS MEMBERS’ LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS IN THE SETTLEMENT
| YOUR RIGHTS AND OPTIONS | WHAT THEY MEAN | DEADLINES |
| DO NOTHING | If you are a Settlement Class Member and do not take any action, you will not receive anything under the Settlement. However, if the Settlement is finally approved, you will be bound by the Court’s Final Judgment and the release of claims explained in the Settlement Agreement. |
None |
| SUBMIT A CLAIM FORM | You must submit a Valid Claim to select either the $10 cash payment or $45 voucher if you have already received a refund for your cancelled flight from Lufthansa, or to receive your refund plus one percent of the refund due if you have not received a refund from Lufthansa to date. |
Received on or before July 24, 2023. |
| EXCLUDE YOURSELF (OPT OUT) | Get no benefits from the Settlement. Requesting exclusion from the Settlement (also called “opting out”) would allow you to file or continue your own lawsuit against Lufthansa about the legal claims involved in the Settlement, individually. |
Received on or before June 19, 2023. |
| OBJECT OR COMMENT | Write to the Court about why you do or do not like the Settlement. |
Filed and served on or before June 19, 2023. |
| GO TO FINAL APPROVAL HEARING | Whichever of the above options you choose, you may also ask to speak in Court about the Settlement. |
Attend Final Approval Hearing on August 7, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. |