Opinion
No. 12-C-6669
02-12-2014
THANKGOD EKUFU, LOVETH EKUFU and GLADYS AGBASI, Plaintiffs, v. IBERIA AIRLINES and MILTON URIBE, Defendants.
Patrick J. Keating 6211380 KEATING LAW GROUP LLC Michael J. Holland CONDON & FORSYTH LLP
Hon. Elaine E. Bucklo
MOTION OF DEFENDANTS IBERIA AIRLINES AND MILTON URIBE TO ENTER
JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFFS IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,729.00
Defendants Iberia Airlines and Milton Uribe, Iberia's Station Manager at O'Hare International Airport, respectfully submit this motion to enter judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in the amount of $1,729.00, the defendants' limit of liability pursuant to Article 22 of a Treaty of the United States known as the Montreal Convention.
Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air, done at Montreal on 28 May 1999, ICAO Doc. No.9740 (entered into force November 4, 2003), reprinted in S. Treaty Doc. 106-45, 1999 WL 333292734.
THE FACTS RELEVANT TO THE MOTION
On January 9, 2014, this Court filed its Memorandum Opinion and Order denying defendants' motion for summary judgment in part but limiting the defendants' liability to the limitations on liability provided in Article 22(2) of the Montreal Convention. Ekufu v. Iberia Airlines, ___ F. Supp. 2d ___, 2014 WL 87502 at *5 (N.D. Ill. 2014). (Docket No. 40) In its Motion for Summary Judgment defendants established that the US dollar value of 1,130 Special Drawing Rights on the date of the alleged loss was just under $1729.00 U.S. and asked for limitation in that amount.
ARGUMENT
THE BASIS FOR CALCULATION OF THE AIRLINE'S
LIABILITY FOR LOST, DAMAGED OR DELAYED BAGGAGE
AT 1,130 SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS PER PASSENGER
Article 22 of the Montreal Convention governs the air carrier's limits of liability in relation to delay, baggage and cargo.
The relevant provision is Article 22(2) which provides as follows:
In the carriage of baggage, the liability of the carrier in the case of destruction, loss, damage or delay is limited to 1000 Special Drawing Rights for each passenger unless the passenger has made, at the time when the checked baggage was handed over to the carrier, a special declaration of interest in delivery at destination and has paid a supplementary sum if the case so requires. In that case the carrier will be liable to pay a sum not exceeding the declared sum, unless it proves that the sum is greater than the passenger's actual interest in delivery at destination.
Special Drawing Rights ("SDRs") are an artificial basket of currency created by the International Monetary Fund. The value of the SDR changes daily. As of January 17, 2012, the day of plaintiff Gladys Agbasi's flight, the value of 1 SDR was $1.528374 U.S., thus converting the liability limit for 1,130 SDRs into U.S. $1,729. The IMF Home Page showing the currency conversion is attached hereto as Exhibit "A".
That limit was raised pursuant to Article 24 of the Montreal Convention, to 1,130 SDRs effective December 30, 2009. See Inflation Adjustments to Liability Limits Governed by the Montreal Convention Effective December 30, 2009, 74 Fed. Register 59017 (Nov. 16, 2009).
Accordingly, the airline's liability is now limited to a maximum of 1,130 Special Drawing Rights for each passenger, as this Court has held. The conversion rate for the baggage as of January 17, 2012 was 1 SDR = about $1.53 U.S. based on the SDR conversion rate into U.S. dollars, making Iberia's maximum liability no more than $1,729.00. Source: http://www.imf.org/external/np/fin/data/rms_sdrv.aspx See fn. 2.
The conversion rate as of January 9, 2014, the date of the Court's Memorandum Opinion and Order, yields effectively the same result. (1SDR= $1.533232 U.S.) (Exhibit B)
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CONCLUSION
Judgment should be entered in favor of plaintiffs and against defendants Iberia Airlines and Milton Uribe in the amount of $1,729.00, the applicable limit of liability under Article 22.2 of the Montreal Convention. Dated: Chicago, Illinois
February 12, 2014
Respectfully submitted
IBERIA AIRLINES and MILTON URIBE
By: Patrick J. Keating
KEATING LAW GROUP LLC Patrick J. Keating 6211380
KEATING LAW GROUP LLC
-and- Michael J. Holland
CONDON & FORSYTH LLP