Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Over Southwest’s 737 MAX Use

A federal judge in Texas has dismissed a lawsuit filed by customers who claimed Southwest overcharged them for flights on Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue because they failed to demonstrate any concrete injuries.

The 2021 class action lawsuit, filed by three customers in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleged that the airline breached its Contract of Carriage by flying the “unsafe, non-airworthy, and defective” 737 MAX aircraft without sufficient pilot training and in violation of FAA regulations.

The plaintiffs, who purchased Southwest tickets for travel between Aug. 29, 2017, and March 13, 2019, claimed they were “overcharged” because buying a ticket with Southwest meant “unwittingly taking a chance of flying aboard the fatally flawed 737 MAX.”

However, court records show that none of the plaintiffs actually flew on a MAX aircraft during that period but instead traveled on Southwest’s 737-700 and 737-800 jets.

The lawsuit came after two fatal crashes involving 737 MAX aircraft operated by Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines, which led to the FAA grounding all MAX aircraft in the U.S. in March 2019. The plaintiffs sought to represent approximately 40 million passengers who flew with Southwest during the defined class period.

Arguments

The plaintiffs’ central argument focused on Southwest’s alleged breach of safety promises contained in its Contract of Carriage, Customer Service Commitment, and website materials. They claimed the Dallas-based carrier made three main promises: that its pilots were properly trained on all aircraft including the MAX, that it operated safe flights on airworthy aircraft, and that it complied with FAA safety regulations.

According to the plaintiffs, their economic injury stemmed from not receiving “the benefit of the bargain” because they paid for safety promises that Southwest allegedly failed to fulfill.

A Southwest Boeing 737 MAX 8 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

Southwest countered that the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing because they suffered no concrete injury. The airline argued that because no plaintiff actually flew on a MAX aircraft, any alleged safety risk never materialized, making their claims purely hypothetical. Southwest relied heavily on a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Rivera v. Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories. The court dismissed a similar case for lack of standing where plaintiffs received exactly what they paid for.

Judge’s Rationale for Dismissal

The court identified two potential “overcharge theories” in the plaintiffs’ complaint. The first theory claimed that plaintiffs were overcharged because they were unknowingly exposed to a safety risk by purchasing Southwest tickets. The judge rejected this theory, citing the 5th Circuit’s decision in Earl v. Boeing Company, which held that plaintiffs lacked standing when complaining of “a past risk of physical injury” that “never materialized.”

The second theory alleged that plaintiffs were overcharged because they paid for specific safety promises that Southwest breached. The court found this theory also failed to establish standing because it rested on unsupportable inferences similar to those rejected in Earl.

The judge determined that the plaintiffs could not plausibly demonstrate how the court could calculate “the difference between the value represented and the value received” without hypothesizing a “but-for” world that Earl had already rejected as raising no plausible theory of economic harm.

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Ryan Ewing

Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com back in February 2013 and has amassed considerable experience in the aviation sector. His work has been featured in several publications and news outlets, including CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. During his time in the industry, he's worked in roles pertaining to airport/airline operations while holding a B.S. in Air Transportation Management from Arizona State University along with an MBA. Ryan has experience in several facets of the industry from behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 to interviewing airline industry executives. Ryan works for AirlineGeeks' owner FLYING Media, spearheading coverage in the commercial aviation space.

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