Winnipeg math prof loses airline appeal
But judge commends Gabor Lukacs on his legal skills
A Winnipeg math professor known for taking on major airlines has lost a key court battle for financial compensation after being grounded by a mechanical mishap.
Gabor Lukacs was seeking $6,000 in general damages from U.S. airlines United and SkyWest after an aircraft's mechanical failure caused him to miss a trip from Winnipeg to an academic conference in Columbus, Ohio.
The airline refunded his airfare in full and offered him another flight to the conference the next day, but Lukacs refused and launched a lawsuit in November 2007, alleging he was entitled to be compensated for inconvenience, mental anguish and missed academic opportunities.
Lukacs's small-claims lawsuit went as far as a full trial, but a Manitoba judge ruled in February he was only entitled to recover $80 worth of cab fare to and from the Winnipeg airport.
Justice Lea Duval said international air travel laws governing compensation for delays excludes claims for general damages.
Lukacs immediately appealed Duval's ruling, hoping to argue she erred in her interpretation of the law, but in a decision released Wednesday, Manitoba Court of Appeal Justice Richard Chartier said Duval's decision should stand.
Lukacs represented himself throughout the case. In his seven-page written decision Chartier commended the tenured University of Manitoba assistant professor, calling his arguments "able."
Won ruling against Air Canada
Lukacs recently had better luck fighting domestic airlines.
In May, he made national headlines after winning a compensation ruling against Air Canada from the Canadian Transport Agency.
Lukacs was returning home on an Air Canada flight in the fall of 2008 when he saw signs announcing the airline's no-fault policy on lost or damaged luggage at the airport and made a complaint to the CTA.
The CTA found Air Canada’s policy that it’s not responsible for delayed or damaged baggage violates both international conventions and Canadian law, and ordered the airline to change it.
In August, he filed a small-claims suit against Air Canada for damaged luggage. Court records show the court ruled in his favour for $150 in damages on Oct. 22.