Hopes Others Will Join In Class Action

A Manhattan resident has filed a class-action lawsuit against Delta Air Lines, claiming he spent eight months in an unsuccessful attempt to get a refund for the cancelled portion of a flight.

The New York Daily News reports 38-year-old Thomas Mullaney was in Rome last October to attend a wedding with his girlfriend. He says Delta first lost his luggage on the way there, including his tux. Then, on the way home, Delta cancelled the leg of the flight from Paris back to New York due to a strike at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Mullaney says not only did Delta deny the refund, but the carrier refused to let him book an alternate flight by phone. He says he was told he'd have to go to the airport in person to make arrangements.

"Why Delta would send us to the airport, where workers were already on strike, makes no sense to me," Mullaney says. "It was like a soccer riot. It was filled with people who were out of their minds angry."

He says he finally got home on American Airlines, but isn't going to let the matter drop. He's filed a $5 million suit against Delta, and is seeking class-action status, assuming thousands of other Delta passengers were probably stiffed, as well.

To be fair, airlines usually group strikes in with "acts of God," and sell reasonably priced trip insurance to cover these eventualities. But Mullaney insists, "I should not have to accept just having this money stolen."

We must admit we find his indignation a little humorous. A little of the pot calling the kettle black, even... see, Mullaney is a class-action lawyer from Manhattan.

So we're really not sure which side to root for here.

FMI: www.delta.com