UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS 

EASTERN DIVISION 

MARK HANSEN, and JASON BUFFER, 

individually and on behalf of all others similarly 

situated, 

 Plaintiffs, 

 v. 

UNITED AIRLINES, INC., 

 Defendant. 

 

Case No. 1:20-cv-02142 

District Judge Thomas M. Durkin 

Magistrate Judge Jeffrey T. Gilbert 

DECLARATION OF WHITNEY K. SIEHL IN SUPPORT OF 

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION 

I, Whitney K. Siehl, declare as follows: 

1. I am an attorney with the law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP (“Hagens 

Berman”). I submit this declaration in support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification. I am 

over 18 years of age and have personal knowledge of the facts stated in this declaration and, if 

called upon, could and would truthfully testify to these facts.

2. Together with Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP, Hagens Berman is 

currently serving as one of two appointed Interim Co-Lead Counsel in this action. 

3. Exhibits in Support of Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification

1. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of the Letter to Oscar 

Munoz, CEO of United Airlines, Inc. from U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey, et al. (March 31, 

2020). 

2. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of a news article, Dawn 

Gilbertson, Airlines owe you a refund when they cancel a flight. So why is United balking during 

coronavirus crisis? USA Today, Mar. 26, 2020, publicly available at: 

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2020/03/26/united-airlines-blasted-refundpolicy-during-coronavirus-crisis/2898509001/. 

3. Attached hereto as Exhibit 3 is a true and correct copy of United’s Contracts of 

Carriage, UNITED000014--UNITED000444. 

4. Attached hereto as Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of a Compilation of 

United’s Contract of Carriage Definitions, collecting language in United’s Contracts of Carriage 

adopted for tickets purchased on or after September 27, 2018 and tickets purchased on or after 

June 18, 2020. 

5. Attached hereto as Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of Expedia’s Terms of Use, 

archived on March 14, 2020, publicly available at: 

https://web.archive.org/web/20200314224744/https://www.expedia.com/lp/lg-legal. 

6. Attached hereto as Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of excerpts from the Rule 

30(b)(6) deposition transcript of James Sumers, taken on December 19, 2022. 

7. Attached hereto as Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of UNITED121623 (June 

18, 2020 email from Jeff Christensen). This document has been designated confidential by 

United under the terms of the case protective order and has been filed under seal. 

8. Attached hereto as Exhibit 8 is a true and correct copy of PLAINTIFFS_000088, 

Flight Delays & Cancellations, U.S. Department of Transportation (Mar. 4, 2020), publicly 

available at https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/aviation-consumer-protection/flightdelays-cancellations. 

9. Attached hereto as Exhibit 9 is a true and correct copy of Enforcement Notice 

Regarding Refunds by Carriers Given the Unprecedented Impact of the COVID-19 Public Health 

Emergency on Air Travel, DOT (April 3, 2020) (“First Enforcement Notice”). 

10. Attached hereto as Exhibit 10 is a true and correct copy of Frequently Asked 

Questions Regarding Airline Ticket Refunds Given the Unprecedented Impact of the COVID-19 

Public Health Emergency on Air Travel, DOT (May 12, 2020) (“Second Enforcement Notice”). 

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11. Attached hereto as Exhibit 11 is a true and correct copy of Enhancing Airline 

Passenger Protections, 76 Fed. Reg. 23110-01, at 23129 (Apr. 25, 2011). 

12. Attached hereto as Exhibit 12 is a true and correct copy of a website, publicly 

available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20200305103847/https://www.united.com/ 

ual/en/us/fly/legal.html (last visited July 14, 2023). 

13. Attached hereto as Exhibit 13 is a true and correct copy of United, Form 10-Q for 

the Quarterly Period Ending June 30, 2020, publicly available at https://ir.united.com/staticfiles/3f00bf9c-c073-4bd2-b90c-9fd7ff68ef0c (last visited July 14, 2023). 

14. Attached hereto as Exhibit 14 is a true and correct copy of United, Form 10-Q for 

the Quarterly Period Ending September 30, 2020, available at https://ir.united.com/staticfiles/1a10f567-3678-421e-9d7a-b482d5820e04 (last visited July 14, 2023). 

15. Attached hereto as Exhibit 15 is a true and correct copy of UNITED176246. This 

document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of the case protective 

order and has been filed under seal. 

16. Attached hereto as Exhibit 16 is a true and correct copy of UNITED025985. This 

document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of the case protective 

order and has been filed under seal. 

17. Attached hereto as Exhibit 17 is a true and correct copy of UNITED098964-67. 

This document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of the case protective 

order and has been filed under seal. 

18. Attached hereto as Exhibit 18 is a true and correct copy of UNITED096648 (Mar. 

17, 2020 press release). This document has been designated confidential by United under the 

terms of the case protective order and has been filed under seal. 

19. Attached hereto as Exhibit 19 is a true and correct copy of UNITED149089 (Apr. 

23, 2020 email). This document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of 

the case protective order and has been filed under seal. 

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20. Attached hereto as Exhibit 20 is a true and correct copy of UNITED170691. This 

document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of the case protective 

order and has been filed under seal. 

21. Attached hereto as Exhibit 21 is a true and correct copy of UNITED063223 (Apr. 

29, 2020 email). This document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of 

the case protective order and has been filed under seal. 

22. Attached hereto as Exhibit 22 is a true and correct copy of UNITED118874 (Mar. 

23, 2020 email from Jeff Christensen). This document has been designated confidential by 

United under the terms of the case protective order and has been filed under seal. 

23. Attached hereto as Exhibit 23 is a true and correct copy of UNITED129256 (Mar. 

16, 2020 email from United to Airline Reporting Corporation). This document has been 

designated confidential by United under the terms of the case protective order and has been filed 

under seal. 

24. Attached hereto as Exhibit 24 is a true and correct copy of UNITED151057. This 

document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of the case protective 

order and has been filed under seal. 

25. Attached hereto as Exhibit 25 is a true and correct copy of PLAINTIFFS_000012 

(message from Plaintiff Buffer to United requesting refund without response). 

26. Attached hereto as Exhibit 26 is a true and correct copy of UNITED151051. This 

document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of the case protective 

order and has been filed under seal. 

27. Attached hereto as Exhibit 27 is a true and correct copy of UNITED078563 (Mar. 

26, 2020 email from DOT to United requesting information concerning its refund policies). This 

document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of the case protective 

order and has been filed under seal. 

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28. Attached hereto as Exhibit 28 is a true and correct copy of UNITED104012. This 

document has been designated confidential by United under the terms of the case protective 

order and has been filed under seal. 

29. Attached hereto as Exhibit 29 is a true and correct copy of PLAINTIFFS_000033 

(message from Plaintiff Hansen to Expedia advising that United refused to issue refund and 

instructed him to contact Expedia). 

30. Attached hereto as Exhibit 30 is a true and correct copy of Expert Report of Sean 

T. Malone, Ph.D. (“Malone Report”). This document has been designated confidential by United 

under the terms of the case protective order and has been filed under seal. 

31. Attached hereto as Exhibit 31 is a true and correct copy of Expert Report of 

Michael Petron (“Petron Report”). This document has been designated confidential by United 

under the terms of the case protective order and has been filed under seal. 

32. Attached hereto as Exhibit 32 is a true and correct copy of Rebuttal Expert Report 

of Sean T. Malone, Ph.D. (“Malone Rebuttal”). This document has been designated confidential 

by United under the terms of the case protective order and has been filed under seal. 

33. Attached hereto as Exhibit 33 is a true and correct copy of Rebuttal Expert Report 

of Michael Petron. (“Petron Rebuttal”). This document has been designated confidential by 

United under the terms of the case protective order and has been filed under seal. 

34. Attached hereto as Exhibit 34 is a true and correct copy of excerpts from the 

deposition transcript of Mark Jordan Hansen, taken on June 17, 2022. 

35. Attached hereto as Exhibit 35 is a true and correct copy of excerpts from 

deposition transcript of Jason Buffer, taken on June 10, 2022. 

36. Attached hereto as Exhibit 36 is a true and correct copy of a survey of state breach 

of contract law. 

37. Attached hereto as Exhibit 37 is a true and correct copy of a website, publicly 

available at: https://www.united.com/en/us/newsroom/hub-airports/ord.html (last visited July 14, 

2023). 

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I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. 

Executed this 14th day of July 2023, in Chicago, Illinois. 

/s/ Whitney K. Siehl 

Whitney K. Siehl 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

The undersigned attorney of record hereby certifies that on July 14, 2023, a true and 

correct copy of the foregoing was filed electronically by the Court’s CM/ECF system, which 

caused notice and a copy of same to be sent to all counsel of record. 

Dated: July 14, 2023 /s/ Whitney K. Siehl 

 Whitney K. Siehl 

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