Opinion ID: 186146
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Cruzes and their luggage

Text: This case arises from some bad luck the Cruz family purportedly had with their luggage. (We glean the statement of facts that follows from the parties’ statements of material undisputed facts, unless otherwise indicated. See D.D.C. Local Civ. R. 56.1.) In 1995, five members of the Cruz family flew on an American Airlines flight from Washington D.C., Reagan National Airport to Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, checking two bags each. When they arrived in Santo Domingo, the Cruzes reported to American that five of their bags were missing. The Cruzes subsequently filed a statement of property loss with American, claiming that the bags were worth $15,000. American, however, offered the Cruzes no compensation. American refused to offer compensation because, according to 1 Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to International Transportation by Air, Oct. 12, 1929, 49 Stat. 3000, T.S. No. 876, note following 49 U.S.C. § 40105 (2000). 3 American’s records, the Cruzes had filed their claims significantly more than 30 days after their loss. American’s policy at the time was not to settle lost-baggage claims voluntarily if the claimant submitted a lost-property form more than 30 days after the date of loss, though there were (unspecified) exceptions to this internal policy (we refer to this policy as the ‘‘30–day rule’’). The Cruzes’ luggage travails did not end there. In 1997, Beato Cruz, who had been on the previous American flight, again flew on an American flight, this time from the Dominican Republic to New York City. When he arrived in New York, according to Cruz’s deposition testimony, his bag was badly damaged and was missing its contents. The next day, Cruz filed a statement of lost property with American, declaring that the value of his bag was $3,890. That same day American gave Cruz a $100 travel voucher. When he received the form, Cruz signed his name next to the following statement: CUSTOMER RECEIPT AND RELEASE: THE ABOVE SUM RECEIVED FROM AMERICAN AIR- LINES IS IN FULL SATISFACTION OF ALL CLAIMS, LIABILITIES AND DEMANDS THAT I MAY HAVE AGAINST SAID COMPANY. Several months later, American issued Cruz a check for $634.90 as compensation for his damaged luggage. The check came with a letter stating that this figure was the maximum amount of compensation American was legally obligated to provide under the terms of its international tariff governing baggage loss and under the Warsaw Convention. Article 18 of the Warsaw Convention generally provides passengers a cause of action for damages against international carriers for lost or damaged checked bags. Under Article 22(2), that liability is limited to $9.07 per pound of lost or damaged baggage. American’s international tariffs – which govern the rates for its international flights and which under federal law it must file with the Department of Transportation, see 49 U.S.C. § 41504 (2000) – specify a default ‘‘deemed weight’’ for Caribbean passengers’ lost bags. This deemed weight, under 4 the tariffs, is used to calculate American’s liability under the Warsaw Convention. The tariffs, specifically, provide that the baggage weight of a Caribbean passenger with a single bag is assumed to be 100 pounds – the bag’s maximum allowable weight – unless the passenger’s ticket states the actual weight. American calculated the $634.90 it offered Cruz based on a flawed understanding of the deemed weight of Cruz’s bag. American computed that figure by multiplying $9.07 by 70 pounds, which it stated was the maximum allowable weight of Cruz’s bag under its tariffs. The true maximum weight of Cruz’s bag under the tariffs was 100 pounds. Therefore, the calculation underestimated the per-bag limit applicable to Cruz’s lost bag by at least $272.10 ($907 minus $634.90). Cruz cashed the $634.90 check. The back of the check had a legend of release on it, which stated that: By endorsement or deposit of this check I (we) hereby release American Airlines, Inc., its agents, including other airlines providing transportation, its employee’s [sic] and representatives from all claims rising in connection with the loss, damage or delay of my belongings transported or authorized to have been transported on the travel date indicated on the remittance advise. Cruz signed his name next to this statement when he endorsed the check. At that point, Cruz had already retained his current attorney and was a party to this lawsuit against American, which at the time only involved the Cruz family’s 1995 trip. Cruz also testified at his deposition that, when he cashed the check, he believed he could sue American for ‘‘the additional amount [he] believed [he] was owed,’’ which, according to positions he later took, was the bag’s fair value. Again, Cruz’s position at the time was that the fair value of his bag was $3,890.