Originally Posted by
DAL 88 Driver
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.
This is so absolutely outrageous that I can hardly put this into words. I cannot even remember the last time I've heard of an attorney actually getting slapped with a Rule 11 sanction. I've had some really sleazy ambulance chasers cross-examine me in my time, and none of those sleaze balls ever got the Rule 11 slap that they deserved.
To have filed a motion that was so beyond the pale that you actually get a Rule 11 sanction, proves your legal skills and judgment are SO BAD that you really don't belong in law. In fact, I would file with the state bar to have this lawyer disbarred. It's that bad.
Wow!
Carl