Updated at 2:55 p.m., Tuesday, October 30, 2007
TIMELINE: How events unfolded in the case
Advertiser Staff
Here's a timeline in the Hawaiian vs. Mesa case:
March 2003: Hawaiian Airlines files for bankruptcy protection.
April 2004: The federal bankruptcy court allows potential investors in Hawaiian to look at the company's books under a confidentiality agreement.
April to May 2004: Mesa downloads more than 60 documents, including more than 2,000 pages of proprietary information about Hawaiian's financial performance, projections and business strategy.
May 2004: Mesa is eliminated as a bidder for Hawaiian.
December 2004: Aloha Airlines files for bankruptcy protection.
April 2005: Mesa starts looking into acquiring or forming a business alliance with Aloha. Mesa retains GCW Consulting, an Arlington, Va.-based aviation consulting firm, to "look at a possible acquisition or some other structure for entry into the Hawaii market."
June 2005: Hawaiian Airlines exits bankruptcy protection under the ownership of California-based Ranch Capital LLC.
January 2006: Mesa's Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Ornstein tells investors that Mesa's decision to enter into the interisland market was based on its review of Hawaiian and Aloha Airlines during their respective bankruptcy cases.
February 2006: Hawaiian sues Mesa to bar the company from operating in the interisland market for two years. Hawaiian alleges that Mesa improperly used confidential business data it received when Hawaiian was in bankruptcy. Hawaiian later reduces the length of the ban it seeks to one year.
March 2006: Mesa begins selling tickets for its June 9 launch of interisland carrier go!
March 2006: Mesa files countersuit, accusing Hawaiian of attempting to block competition illegally.
June 2006: Mesa launches go!
September 2006: Hawaiian alleges that Mesa attempted to drive Aloha out of business by citing e-mails by Mesa Chief Financial Officer Peter Murnane. Murnane's e-mails say: "If we assume Aloha stays in market and in business forever, this project makes no sense. We definitely don't want to wait for them to die, rather we should be the ones who give them the last push."
October 2006: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris rejects Hawaiian's request for a ban but says Mesa "probably breached the confidentiality agreement" by failing to return or destroy material it received. Faris also concludes that "at one time, Mesa hoped to drive Aloha out of business."
October 2006: Aloha sued Mesa alleging that it misused confidential information in an attempt to drive Aloha out of business.
December 2006: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Faris throws out Mesa's countersuit against Hawaiian.
August 2007: Hawaiian accuses Mesa CFO Murnane of destroying several computer files that included confidential Hawaiian material.
Oct. 30, 2007: U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Faris orders Mesa to pay Hawaiian $80 million in damages for misusing confidential business information.
