Paying for bag fees has apparently struck a nerve with a federal judge, who has turned down Expedia’s request to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses the online travel agency of failing to waive fees for checked bags after claiming they would be free with purchase.
In an order filed earlier this week, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones also said he was considering sanctioning Expedia to the tune of $1,000 a day if it did not respond appropriately to discovery requests by the plaintiff.
The lawsuit, which is seeking class action status, was filed in King County Superior Court in July. The plaintiff is Ohio resident Jeffrey Weidenhamer, who is being represented by Badgley Mullins Turner of Shoreline, Wash.
An Expedia spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
In addition to seeking a refund for luggage fees, Weidenhamer also alleges that Expedia was deceptive about offering a 5 percent discount for making a purchase from its mobile application, but did not honor the discount.
As for the baggage fees, the plaintiff claims that Expedia said there would be no fees for the first checked bag. But upon arrival at the airport, he incurred round-trip charges of $650 for the four tickets booked. Additionally, Weidenhamer says he did not receive the 5 percent discount on his purchase until he complained to the Ohio Attorney General. Once he did so, he received a refund of $79.66, reflecting the discount.
Expedia asked the judge to dismiss the claim regarding the 5 percent discount because the plaintiff ultimately received the refund, and therefore, did not have a case because there was no injury.
However, in the order issued earlier this week, the judge disagreed with the motion, saying that the plaintiff “expended time attempting to wheedle a credit out of Expedia. When he met with no success, he expended more time complaining to the Attorney General of Ohio.” Therefore, the judge writes: “A ‘full’ refund is not ‘full’ compensation unless it comes with compensation for the lost time value of the money.”
The judge added that the plaintiff may not have purchased his tickets at Expedia if it weren’t for the offer, and therefore, Expedia has been “unjustly enriched by the full amount of his purchase.”
Not only did Expedia lose the request to dismiss the case, it also is now facing steep sanctions for responded to the plaintiff’s discovery requests with boilerplate objections.
“Expedia’s responses are obstructionist, dilatory, and, in too many instance, facially false,” Judge Jones wrote. Later, he added that using “General Objections,” like Expedia did “is bad faith.” Expedia has 14 days to withdraw those responses and file new ones. If Expedia continues to use “General Objections” going forward, the judge will sanction Expedia a minimum of $1,000 a day.
Finally, the judge denied to extend the plaintiff’s request to extend class certification by 90 days.
Here’s the Judge Jone’s full order:
