In O* v Turkish Airlines, Inc., M.O. sought relief after the air carrier cancelled his flight and failed to issue a refund. After his requests for relief were denied by the New York County Civil Court, he appealed to the Appellate Term, First Department, which affirmed in part and modified in part the lower court's rulings.
The AT1 granted O. summary judgment on his breach of contract claim, awarding him $729.89—the exact amount of the ticket he purchased, because the airline’s own General Conditions of Carriage required a refund when a flight was cancelled and ticket was unused. Since Turkish Airlines did not dispute the cancellation or the absence of a refund, O. was entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
However, the court dismissed O's claims for consequential damages. The contract expressly excluded indirect or consequential damages, and the court enforced that limitation.
The plaintiff’s attempt to amend his complaint was also rejected. His proposed claims—elder abuse, negligent misrepresentation, and injunctive relief—were deemed legally insufficient. Elder abuse did not fit within any recognized cause of action, negligent misrepresentation lacked the required elements such as a special relationship, and injunctive relief was not available in Civil Court.
Finally, the appeal from the order denying his motion to vacate was dismissed because O. was not aggrieved by that ruling. The court reiterated that only orders adversely affecting a party may be appealed.
In sum, the plaintiff secured the refund he was contractually entitled to, but his broader claims failed due to contractual exclusions, insufficient pleadings, and jurisdictional limits. The decision reinforces the principle that airline contracts are strictly construed, passengers can recover the fare they paid when flights are cancelled, but attempts to expand liability beyond that are unlikely to succeed. It also serves as a reminder that procedural precision and substantive merit are essential when advancing claims in Civil Court.
I guess you could say, the legal turbulence was resolved: refund cleared for takeoff, everything else was left on the runway.
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DECISION
O* v Turkish Airlines, Inc.