Updated at 2:09 p.m., Friday, January 25, 2008
Judge orders Mesa to pay Hawaiian $3.9M in legal fees
Bloomberg News Service
Mesa Air Group Inc. must pay $3.9 million in legal fees and costs in addition to $80 million in damages awarded to rival Hawaiian Airlines Inc. over misuse of the carrier's confidential information, a judge ruled.U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris concluded that Hawaiian officials were entitled to recoup more than $3.6 million in fees and more than $275,000 in costs from Mesa in connection with claims that Mesa used deceptive practices to gain access to Hawaiian's passenger and pricing data while the Honolulu-based airline was under bankruptcy protection, Bloomberg News Service reported.
"My independent review of billing records convinces me" that Hawaiian Air's fee request was reasonable, Faris said in an 11-page ruling dated Jan. 22. Brian Gilman, Mesa's general counsel, wasn't immediately available for comment on Faris' ruling. Mesa is the parent company of interisland carrier go!.
