Attorney Filippo Marchino, of The X-Law Group
LOS ANGELES - Delta Air Lines has agreed to pay nearly $79 million in a settlement with southeast Los Angeles homeowners who alleged a 2020 fuel dump from a Delta airliner prior to an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport posed harm to health and property.
The attorneys who led the legal action are expected to claim as much as 30% of the settlement funds, or as much as $24 million.
The plaintiffs’ and Delta’s motion for preliminary approval of a federal class-action settlement was filed on Aug. 25 in the Central District of California. The settlement includes a monetary amount of $78.75 million as well as non-monetary assistance to help residents determine that their homes and property are free of jet fuel contamination.
The litigation was filed in 2020 after a Delta airliner bound from LAX to Shanghai suffered an engine malfunction soon after takeoff. The flight crew declared an emergency and then jettisoned thousands of gallons of fuel as a safety precaution before returning to the airport.
The plaintiffs in the litigation argued the fuel dump that affected residents, their homes and schools posed health concerns and fears that the jet fuel had caused contamination affecting 38,000 properties, according to the settlement. Delta, however, argued that the cabin crew of flight DL89 followed Federal Aviation Administration procedures for such an emergency and noted that all the passengers arrived safely back at LAX.
In addition, testing by the plaintiffs’ and Delta’s experts showed that negligible amounts of fuel reached the ground and that the amount of fuel that did contact homes or schools would have quickly dissipated, Delta reported.
The airline, which denied the plaintiffs’ allegations and gave no admission of liability, eventually decided to settle to avoid the future risks and costs associated with continuing the litigation.
The plaintiffs’ law firm, The X-Law Group P.C., stressed that one of the non-monetary benefits in the settlement was that homeowners would receive a test report to establish that their properties are free of contamination.
“These aren't just pieces of paper; they're peace of mind,” the law firm said in a statement emailed to the Southern California Record. “They're the restoration of equity that families spent generations building. After five years of relentless litigation, we're proud to return what was taken from these southeast L.A. communities: their security, their property values and their faith that when corporations cause harm, accountability will follow.”
The fuel-dumping incident five years ago did more than raise soil-contamination fears, according to the law firm. It “shattered the dreams and security” of tens of thousands of L.A.-area families, the X-Law Group said.
“In an instant, that fuel dump threatened to wipe away a lifetime of work and turn the American Dream into a nightmare,” the law firm’s statement says. “(The) $79 million settlement doesn't just provide monetary compensation – it gives these families something eminently more valuable: the knowledge that their homes are safe and their property values protected.”
The share of the settlement going to attorney’s fees cannot exceed $24 million, or 30.5% of the settlement funds, and legal costs are capped at $2 million, according to the terms of the agreement. In addition, each of the named plaintiffs will receive awards of $15,000.
A total of $33.9 million will be awarded to property-owner class members. If there is a 100% claim-submission rate, this translates into each property owner receiving $888.82. “Resident class members” in the affected region would receive $104.34 each, based on a 100% claim-submission rate, the settlement states.