An informative decision from the New York small claims court is McMurray v Capitol International Airways [1980] 424 N.Y.S. 2d 88. McMurray purchased two tickets for himself and his wife from Brussels to New York for a total price of US$300. Upon presenting himself in the airport in Brussels for his flight he was told by Capitol that his flight was cancelled due to engine trouble and all other Capitol flights that day to New York were filled to capacity. McMurray then immediately booked an Air France flight from Brussels to New York for himself and his wife at a cost of US$1065. He sued Capitol in New York small claims court for the $1065.
Capitol relied on the same conditions of carriage, which is now being touted as binding, which it had filed with the Civil Aeronautics Board which exempted it from liability, except that it was willing to refund the $300 ticket price.
The Court found that McMurray could not be expected to "languish in a hotel until a Capitol flight became available" and acted correctly to travel on Air France albeit at the much higher fare.
What the airline was doing, the court said was "the equivalent of stranding American citizens abroad, and cannot be tolerated."
In giving judgment for the Plaintiffs of $1,000 (the maximum then allowed for small claims in New York), provided they returned the unused Capitol tickets, the Judge added: "It is high time however that airlines begin to assume the obligations of responsible businessmen."
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