October 14, 2011

ALPA Digs Deeper Hole in TWA Case

In July of 2011, ALPA was found guilty of harming the TWA Pilots it should have been representing during the merger with American Airlines. In the hope of wooing the American Pilots into joining ALPA, ALPA caused significant harm to the TWA Pilots.

In response to the GUILTY verdict and in an attempt to avoid requested damages of up to $1.2 Billion, ALPA made a recent attempt to discredit the attorneys representing the TWA Pilots. ALPA attorneys accused the TWA attorneys of coaching their witnesses and falsifying testimony, otherwise known as suborning perjury. This is one of the most serious charges an attorney can face as it can lead to disbarring. By making this serious accusation, ALPA attorneys hoped to have the trial and GUILTY verdict thrown out.

The U.S. District Court flatly rejected the accusation and, instead, granted a Rule 11 sanction against the ALPA attorneys. Rule 11 requires that motions be non-frivolous and contain supporting evidence, neither of which did ALPA attorneys comply with. A Rule 11 sanction is extremely rare and occasionally leads to disbarring as well. In this case, ALPA attorneys were fined $5,000.00 to be paid directly to the TWA attorneys along with all legal expenses incurred by the TWA attorneys.

ALPA claims they will fight the GUILTY verdict and drag out the damages process, so Delta Pilots need not worry about a potential assessment. The U.S. District Court showed disdain for the ALPA attorneys' lack of professionalism and quickly dispatched their attempt to discredit the TWA attorneys, one of whom is being considered for the Supreme Court of Missouri. If future attempts to drag out the process are this weak and ill-prepared, ALPA members may see the damage award and potential levied assessments in very short order.

READ THE TRANSCRIPT

READ THE ORDER GRANTING SANCTION

READ THE GUILTY VERDICT

READ THE JOINT PRE-TRIAL ORDER

READ THE SEHAM EXPERT REPORT

Delta Pilots deserve high caliber representation that focuses solely on our needs. The ALPA National leadership continues to make strategic errors by even choosing to attack potential Supreme Court nominees. Take the time to read the above documents to learn about the level of service you pay twice the industry average for.