American Airlines foe Sabre blasts legal fee bid for $1 antitrust win

Dec 12 (Reuters) – Vacation scheduling software package service provider Sabre Corp explained to a U.S. judge on Friday that it should not have to pay American Airlines Group Inc’s legal charges following American received just $1 from Sabre in an antitrust demo in May well.

American reported past thirty day period that it need to be awarded legal fees from its lengthy-jogging circumstance against Sabre, which provided two trials and an charm. Although American has not named an actual charge sum, the airline could search for about $150 million, Sabre stated in its Friday filing in Manhattan federal court.

The lawsuit, initially brought by US Airways in 2011, accused Sabre of charging too much charges and curbing competition in the flight-reserving industry. American later on merged with US Airways.

But after 11 many years of litigation, American “dropped or deserted all of its promises apart from a portion of a person,” Sabre reported.

“Right after this sort of staggering failure, the only fair price in this article is no rate at all,” Sabre reported.

Sabre reported that for the duration of a July listening to a lawyer for American from regulation business O’Melveny & Myers claimed the airline would submit a “‘very, really considerable…costs claim’ for at least ‘$150 million.'”

“A nine-figure rate for a so-termed $1 ‘win’ is plainly unsupportable, and any recoverable expenses really should be slashed by at least 99{0b5b04b8d3ad800b67772b3dcc20e35ebfd293e6e83c1a657928cfb52b561f97},” Sabre mentioned.

Southlake, Texas-centered Sabre is the country’s major operator and operator of a community that travel brokers use to research and e book flights stated by the airways. It is represented by a workforce of attorneys from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, like previous Chicago U.S. legal professional Patrick Fitzgerald.

Spokespersons for American and Sabre, and their attorneys, did not quickly respond to requests for comment.

The scenario is US Airways Inc, for American Airways Inc v Sabre Holdings Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. No. 1:11-cv-02725-LGS-JLC.

For US Airways: Andrew Frackman of O’Melveny & Myers R. Paul Yetter of Yetter Coleman

For Sabre: Patrick Fitzgerald and Boris Bershteyn of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom

Read Additional:

American Airlines attorneys, following $1 antitrust earn, seek out ‘very substantial’ expenses

American Airways will get favorable antitrust verdict, and $1 in damages

Reporting by David Thomas

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