According to the lawsuit, multiple airlines were accused of violating the Air Carrier Access Act. David McNew/Getty Images
Airlines replied to a suit for mask-mandate and said that the claim should be filed with government.
Federal court heard the responses of Delta, Southwest and JetBlue, Alaska, Allegiant Frontier, Spirit, and Spirit.
Lawyers for Frontier and Allegiant stated that there is no private right to action.
Check out more stories from Insider's business page.
Seven airlines tried to dismiss a suit over passenger mask requirements. They argued that the plaintiff should have filed an Administrative Complaint with the government.
Lucas Wall of Washington DC filed the lawsuit in June alleging that the airlines violated the Air Carrier Access Act. He claimed that he is unable to wear a mask because of a medical condition. Therefore, he should be exempted from federal mandates and airline requirements.
In a Monday joint motion to dismiss, lawyers for Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines wrote that "the ACAA confers not private right to sue a carrier."
Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air filed a joint motion at the US District Court in Orlando. Spirit Airlines filed separate motions.
They arrived in three files, but the arguments of each airline overlapped. They agreed that Wall did not have the legal standing to sue them at federal court. Frontier and Allegiant's lawyers wrote that plaintiff's claims were "failed as a matter law because there is not private right to action."
They stated that Wall should have filed a complaint first with the Dept. Transportation (DOT). The motion stated that if the DOT had not acted on an administrative complain, then he may have grounds to sue airlines.
The airlines stated that Plaintiff did not choose to follow the path of judicial review.
Wall countered that the airlines had sidestepped the issue and instead relied on technical arguments to dismiss his suit.
He said that the DOT was not following the law as required.
Continue the story
He pointed out an update that was published by the Office of Aviation Consumer Protection (a unit of the DOT's Office of the General Counsel) on February 5. The Notice of Enforcement Policy gave airlines 45 days to comply with the ACAA's mask requirements.
The notice stated that the government would "exercise it prosecutorial discretion" in cases involving ACAA violations. Wall claimed that this meant the government was not enforcing law.
Southwest spokeswoman on Friday, stating that the airline enforces the federal mask mandate. According to Southwest, the airline has been advising passengers about pandemic safety requirements multiple times before they travel to the airport. These notices were included in the booking process as well as in pre-trip emails.
A spokesperson for the airline stated via email that while we are sorry for any inconvenience caused to customers, federal law requires all passengers aged 2 years and over to wear a mask throughout their air travel journey.
According to the airline, it also stated that they have posted information on their website regarding applications for exemptions from requirements for masks.
Wall stated that he will file an amended complaint against airlines in September. He said it would include at least one additional charge.
Frontier and Allegiant refused to comment. Delta's lawyer referred questions to the airline. The airline also declined to comment. Insider reached out to all the other airlines for comment.
Wall is also suing President Joe Biden and the CDC in a separate lawsuit. The Department. The Department.
Wall stated that the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the administration's eviction banatorium on Thursday gave him hope for his suit.
He said that the decision was "really exciting for me because the ban on eviction is based upon the same section of the public health law that the testing and mask mandate are based upon."
Business Insider has the original article.
