Legal News

Amex beats travel insurance overcharge rap without having to travel to the courtroom

By Richard Binder

In a rare case of a national class action going to trial, American Express Co. has defeated a consumer class action in California alleging that it overcharged customers as much as $310 million for travel insurance.

The win was all the more unusual because it came at the end of the plaintiffs' 11-week trial presentation of evidence and without American Express putting on its case.

The suit alleged that American Express overbilled on travel insurance for cardholders who charged flights on their charge cards and that it allegedly used deceptive marketing of the program that misrepresented or was unclear about how the system worked.

The California trial that ended on March 26 was the second phase of the long-running dispute. This phase centered on the deception marketing allegations. Judge George Hernandez of the California Superior Court in Fremont had previously ruled in the first phase of the trial, which began in November, that the terms of the contract with customers were unambiguous under California law.

Max Folkenflik of Folkenflik & McGerity in New York, an attorney for the plaintiffs, pledged to appeal the trial court ruling.

Full story at NLJ.com.

Full post as published by Legal Pad | LA on March 31, 2009 (boomark / email).