IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA FOURTH DIVISION

Transcription

1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA FOURTH DIVISION IN RE TRAVEL AGENCY COMMISSION Master File No ANTITRUST LITIGATION NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION THIS NOTICE MAY AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS PLEASE READ CAREFULLY TO: ALL TRAVEL AGENCIES IN THE UNITED STATES WHO, AT ANY TIME FROM FEBRUARY 10, 1995, TO THE PRESENT, ISSUED TICKETS, MISCELLANEOUS CHARGE ORDERS OR PREPAID TICKET ADVICES FOR TRAVEL ON ANY OF THE DEFENDANT AIRLINES WITHIN AND BETWEEN THE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES, ALASKA, HAWAII, PUERTO RICO AND THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS (THE "CLASS". This notice is given to you pursuant to an Order of this Court and Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. It is to inform you of the pendency of a class action in which you may be a member and to tell you how to request exclusion from that litigation if you do not wish to participate. It will also describe the rights you will have as a class member, and your rights if you do not exclude yourself from the lawsuit. I. PURPOSE OF THIS NOTICE The purpose of this Notice is to inform you that a class action has been certified and, if you are a member of the Class, to inform you of your rights. The Court has not decided whether plaintiffs and the Class have meritorious claims or whether defendants have meritorious defenses. This Notice should not be understood as an expression by the Court of any opinion as to the merits of any claims or defenses asserted by plaintiffs or defendants. II. DESCRIPTION OF THE LAWSUIT This class action lawsuit is pending in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Fourth Division (the "Court", In re Airline Travel Agency Commission Antitrust Litigation Master File No Similar actions are pending in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, In re: Travel Agents Antitrust Litigation, Master File No. 95-CV-981 as well as in other jurisdictions. Each case alleges that seven major air carriers violated the antitrust laws by purportedly engaging in an unlawful conspiracy to cap commissions paid to travel agencies who sell certain tickets, miscellaneous charge orders ("MCOs" and prepaid ticket advices ("PTAs" for domestic travel. The defendants are Delta Airlines, Inc., American Airlines, Inc., Northwest Airlines, Inc., United Airlines, Inc., USAir, Inc., Trans World Airlines, and Continental Airlines, Inc. (the "defendants". The plaintiffs allege that the defendants violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 1, and, with respect to the actions pending in Minnesota, Section 2 of the Sherman Act, 15 U.S.C. 2. Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief to restore the domestic fare commission structure that existed prior to February 10, 1995 and money damages for the Class. The defendants deny that they conspired to cap commissions or have otherwise acted unlawfully and they are contesting plaintiffs' claims. Because similar actions are pending in other courts across the country, several plaintiffs have petitioned the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ("MDL Panel" to consolidate and transfer all of the actions to one court. Some of the plaintiffs have requested that the actions be transferred to this Court, while other plaintiffs have requested that the actions be transferred to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, located in Philadelphia. The MDL Panel will hear argument on May 19, 1995 and will rule thereafter. Depending upon the ruling of the MDL Panel, all of the cases could remain in this Court or they could be transferred to Philadelphia. No date has been set for trial of this consolidated case. Defendants have denied all allegations of wrongdoing asserted against them and will move for summary judgment in their favor. A hearing on that motion has been scheduled for July 7, Plaintiffs moved the Court for a preliminary injunction against defendants. A hearing on that request is also scheduled for July 7, 1995.

2 III. THE CLASS ACTION RULING The defendants have agreed with the plaintiffs' request that this action proceed as a class action. Pursuant to that agreement and pursuant to Rule 23(b(2 and 23(b(3 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court certified the following class by Order dated May 2, 1995: All travel agencies in the United States who, at any time from February 10, 1995, to the present, issued tickets, miscellaneous charge orders or prepaid ticket advices for travel on any of the defendant airlines within and between the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (the "Class". Certification by the Court of the Class does not mean that any money or other relief will be obtained for Class members, for there are contested issues which have not been decided. The ruling means that the ultimate outcome of this litigation whether favorable to plaintiffs or to defendants will apply in a like manner to all Class members. IV. CLASS COUNSEL AND CLASS REPRESENTATIVES The Court has designated the plaintiffs in this case are to serve as the plaintiff Class representatives under Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court has designated plaintiffs' counsel, listed below, as counsel for the Class. If you remain a member of the Class, these Class representatives and Class counsel will act as your representatives and counsel for the presentation of the claims against defendants. You will not be personally responsible for costs or attorneys' fees for the maintenance of this lawsuit. If the Court orders a judgment in favor of the Class or if a Class-wide settlement is obtained, Class Counsel will petition the Court for an award of attorneys' fees, and reimbursement of their costs to be paid out of any funds recovered for the Class. V. ELECTION BY CLASS MEMBERS If you fit the description of a Class member set forth in the heading to this Notice, you are a member of the Class and your options as a Class member are as follows: A. Your rights in the motion for injunctive relief. For purposes of the injunctive relief sought by plaintiffs (i.e., the restoration of the domestic fare commission structure that existed before February 10, 1995, you are precluded from seeking such relief on your own in a separate proceeding. If the injunctive relief is issued in this proceeding, you will benefit in the same manner as all other Class members. If the injunctive relief is denied, you will be bound by that result. The Class representatives and Class counsel identified herein will act as your representatives and counsel for the presentation of the claims for injunctive relief. While you may not exclude yourself from the Class for purposes of injunctive relief, you do have the right to enter an appearance by counsel of your own choosing and at your own expense. You need not do this, however, since Class counsel will continue to represent you. B. Your rights in the claim for monetary damages. With respect to the claim for monetary damages, you have a choice whether or not to remain a member of the Class. Either choice will have consequences which you should understand before making your decision. 1. If you want to remain a member of the Class to pursue the claim for monetary damages, you are not required to do anything at this time. By remaining a Class member, you are agreeing to be bound by any judgment adverse to or benefitting the Class and you will not have the right to maintain a separate action, even if you have already filed a separate action. As a member of the Class, you would be entitled to share in the benefits of any judgment in favor of the Class. 2. If you elect to remain a member of the Class, and you do not wish to be represented by the Class Representatives and their counsel, you may enter an appearance through your own attorney. To do so you must file an Entry of appearance with the Clerk of the Court. You will then continue as a Class Member with representation by your own attorney, and you will be responsible for the fees and costs of that attorney in addition to your share of any fees and costs awarded by the Court to counsel for the Class. 3. If you want to be excluded from the Class for purposes of pursuing the claim for monetary damages, you must state in writing your request to be excluded. You may use the Request for Exclusion form attached to this Notice. This form should be used ONLY if you do not wish to participate in this lawsuit for purposes of seeking money damages. A request for exclusion must be sent to: Travel Agency Commission Antitrust Litigation, c/o Gilardi & Co., P.O. Box 8040, San Rafael, California by mail, personally or otherwise so that it is received no later than July 5, By electing to be excluded, the judgment with respect to the claim for monetary relief will not be binding on you. In other words, you will not share in any recovery as a result of a judgment in favor of plaintiffs. You also will not be bound by any judgment with respect to a claim for monetary damages in favor of defendants, 2

3 and you would have the right, at your own expense, to proceed individually against defendants for purposes of seeking monetary relief. VI. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION All references in this Notice to pleadings and Court orders are only summaries. Complete copies of the pleadings, orders and other documents filed in this litigation may be examined and copied at any time during regular office hours at the office of the Clerk of the Court, United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, Fourth Division, 514 United States Courthouse, 110 South Fourth Street, Minneapolis, MN under Master File No The Court has not yet ruled on the merits of any of the claims or defenses asserted by the parties in this class action. This notice is not an expression of an opinion by the Court as to the merits of any claims or defenses. This notice is being sent to you solely to inform you of the nature of the litigation, your rights and obligations as a Class Member, the steps required should you desire to be excluded from the Class, the Court's certification of the Class, and the forthcoming proceedings. If you have any questions concerning any matter raised in this Notice, or any corrections or changes of name of address, you may address them in writing or by telephone to any of the following attorneys designated as Class Counsel: Samuel D. Heins Stacey L. Mills Kent M. Williams HEINS MILLS & OLSON, P.L.C. 700 Northstar East 608 Second Avenue South Minneapolis, MN ( LIAISON COUNSEL FOR THE PLAINTIFF CLASS Jerry S. Cohen Marvin A. Miller Richard Lewis MILLER FAUCHER CHERTOW COHEN, MILSTEIN, HAUSFELD & TOLL CAFFERTY and WEXLER 1100 New York Avenue, N.W. 30 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 3200 West Tower, Suite 500 Chicago, IL Washington, D.C ( ( Nicholas E. Chimicles William Bernstein Ira N. Richards Joseph R. Saveri CHIMICLES, JACOBSEN & TIKELLIS LIEFF, CABRASER & HEIMANN One Haverford Centre Embarcadero Center 361 West Lancaster Avenue 275 Battery Street, 30th Floor Haverford, PA San Francisco, CA ( ( CO-LEAD COUNSEL FOR THE PLAINTIFF CLASS Do not contact the Court. REMINDER OF TIME LIMIT FOR EXCLUSION If you want to be excluded from the Class for purposes of pursuing the claims for monetary relief, you must state in writing your request to be excluded and sign your name. You may use the request for exclusion form attached to this Notice. This form should be used ONLY if you do not wish to participate in the claims for monetary relief. Requests for exclusion must be sent to: Travel Agency Commission Antitrust Litigation, c/o Gilardi & Co., P.O. Box 8040, San Rafael, California by mail, personally or otherwise so that it is received no later than July 5, If you do not request exclusion, you will be bound by any judgment in this action regarding monetary relief. Dated: May 19, 1995 Clerk United States District Court 3

4 for the District of Minnesota, Fourth Division 4

5 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA FOURTH DIVISION IN RE TRAVEL AGENCY COMMISSION Master File No ANTITRUST LITIGATION REQUEST FOR EXCLUSION FROM CLAIMS FOR MONETARY DAMAGES PLEASE READ THE ENCLOSED LEGAL NOTICE CAREFULLY BEFORE FILLING OUT THIS FORM The undersigned does NOT with to remain a member of the plaintiff class for purposes of pursuing claims for monetary relief. PRINTED NAME: ADDRESS: TELEPHONE: SIGNATURE: (For business organizations, specify capacity of person signing DATED: Return to: Travel Agency Commission Antitrust Litigation c/o Gilardi & Co. P.O. Box 8040 San Rafael, California REMINDER OF TIME LIMIT: Return this form No LATER THAN July 5, 1995 if you desire to be excluded from the claims seeking monetary relief.