The Lawsuit: Part 43,987
2nd Update: The Judge in this lawsuit has also decided that the Department of Justice won’t get its requested stay and has to litigate the case on time. It’s not a good day for those serving as plaintiffs in this case.
UPDATE: Greg Abbott has announced a “settlement” in which the Great State of Texas will get what it wanted by legal agreement.
In other words: American Airlines put in writing the promises it has already made long prior to the lawsuit nonsense. AA will continue to serve 22 communities in Texas for at least 3 years.
The fact that the press conference was held at American Airlines facilities speaks volumes about this “settlement.” I would imagine that AA just barely let him call it a settlement for face saving purposes.
The Dallas Morning News says: “Abbott denied that political considerations played a part in either joining the lawsuit when it was filed Aug. 13 or deciding to withdraw now.”
The ongoing saga of the Department of Justice lawsuit against the US Airways and American Airlines merger is one of those things that makes me think of the phrase “You just can’t make up stuff this good.”
First up, there are strong rumours (nearly fact) that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott will be withdrawing from the lawsuit at a 2pm press conference today (October 1st). Why? Well, somehow AG Abbott managed to get himself on the wrong side of everything in this fight. He was and is largely supported by Tea Party Republicans in his bid for governor and I would imagine not a single one was amused that he aligned himself with the administration of President Obama and with the department run by Attorney General Eric Holder.
I also think that AG Abbott didn’t do the political math on who he would anger with his original moves. By now, AG Abbott has learned about the political power and the very loud shout that unions associated with American Airlines can provide. And these unions represent white collar workers predominantly: not a group AG Abbott can afford to anger at all.
So, yes, I expect that AG Abbott will be withdrawing from the lawsuit and I also expect that a few other attorneys general will follow suit over time largely because no one wants to be on the side of a loser suit.
Next up is that the DoJ immediately ran to court and asked for a stay on their trial because the government shut down. My first reaction was “How unfortunate for the government that it is unable to support its own case for a while.”
My second reaction was “That’s life in the big city.”
I do not think a stay will be issued now but I do think one is possible if the government shutdown goes on for a significant time period. The speed with which this motion was made leads me to believe that it was on deck for many days in advance of the government shutdown development.
Yes, time is limited before trial. But the government is quite able to re-fund itself and get going. This is not an Act of God getting in their way.
well well well….. so the DOJ cannot prepare for a ‘case’ that it has known about for almost a year. i am very pleased the court said to the doj…. NO. no stay. the ‘department’ is running all over themselves. they are so ill prepared for this it’s not even funny. will this crap never end? as for the texas AG distancing himself from the lawsuit, well, i guess he will be flying on the ‘new american’ for free for the rest of his life. either that,or, he was rather gobsmacked at the power of the workers. who, by the way, ARE CONSUMERS TOO!!!! either that, or he does not want a ‘sneezer special’ from a flight attendant serving him his next frosty inflight beverage.