Adam Levitt, Chicago Man, Sues Southwest Airlines For 45 Free Drinks

A Chicago attorney with 45 now-worthless free drink coupons valued at about $225 in savings has filed a lawsuit against Southwest Airlines over the company's recent decision to cease honoring the coupons, which had been awarded to customers for purchasing premium "Business Select" tickets and do not have an expiration date.

Plaintiff Adam Levitt argues that the policy change represents a breached contract and is seeking class-action status for his suit, the ABA Journal reports.

"Southwest decided that it would make more money -- improve its 'bottom-line' -- by choosing not to honor the coupons that consumers had already paid and bargained for," said the complaint filed on Wednesday in Chicago federal court, according to Reuters.

His comment references a post on the company's blog Aug. 1 by Mike Hafner, vice president of cabin services, announcing the policy change:

"In an industry where the competition is always knocking (or banging) on the door and where watching the bottom-line is more important than ever, we owe it to our Employees, Customers, and Shareholders to find ways to operate smarter. We've reached a point where being so flexible with drink coupons has put us in a position of having far too many in circulation. To help purge the system of these excess coupons, we will start enforcing expiration dates on coupons over the course of the next year."

Levitt seeks to extend the suit to include all Southwest customers in the United States with unredeemed drink coupons and is asking for compensatory damages and other remedies, Reuters reports.

Comments

[Jose A Ibarra]

04:33 AM on 11/19/2011

Dude clearly loves wetting his whistle while flying.

[cyberduk]

03:24 AM on 11/19/2011

That's five minutes of my life I won't get back for reading this stupid story.

[johnmeltorment]

04:02 PM on 11/18/2011

I'm still trying to figure out what kind of person spends $225 on beverage coupons

[AZ Stang]

03:57 PM on 11/18/2011

I think I sat in front of this guy on a flight last month. We all got to listen to him whine about his precious coupons for 2 1/2 hours. I gave the people around us some of my VALID coupons just to rub it in. Everyone but him, of course...

[Linda Stare]

05:43 PM on 11/18/2011

And reading about how spiteful you are, I'd like to "rub it in" that I wouldn't want YOU sitting next to me. Everyone BUT you, of course.

[AZ Stang]

07:43 PM on 11/18/2011

Touche, but I'm not spiteful, I just don't believe in making everyone around me suffer because I have a problem.

[driller7530]

03:06 PM on 11/18/2011

ahhh wellll , , sucks to be a southwest afficionado ( before AND after this) crappy air cattle car, the things were packed like the trains to aushwitz anyway and usualy could have benefitted from a good scrub in the cabin ,

[Slackjaw Mcgraw]

02:48 PM on 11/18/2011

Don't like this in any way!Companies are always trying to get out of extra paying costs, especially if you have already paid or earned them with a no expiration date. I saw soemone recently on coupons wars that had a no expiration date coupon from liek 10 years ago and you know what the store honored it because that is how it was written. He should iether get a refund or let him usethe remaining coupons. This would not have been that bad if they would have given a time frame to use the remaining tickets. Anything not used within a years time would not be honored or something like that may have worked. I don't like frivolous law suites iether but at least this lawyer is not going for millions, just what he is actually owed.

[shutterz2203]

10:04 PM on 11/18/2011

While we're on the subject of drinking, how many drinks did you have before you typed this?

[Slackjaw Mcgraw]

12:28 PM on 11/19/2011

Only had 2 before writing this comment but happy hour was much better...can you say Christmas Ale? Merry X-mas to everyone!! Definitely not one of those Happy Holidays, politically right yo yo's here.

[Gary Sawyer]

02:39 PM on 11/18/2011

Is this the Levitt that invented the Yellow Pages?

[Adam Dray]

02:38 PM on 11/18/2011

Well if they MADE the coupons they should have to honor them. Pure and simple, guess they shoulda had their legal dept make that fine print a bit better ont he bottom that says 'they are allowed' to discontinue the coupons at anytime.....

[braigno2]

02:19 PM on 11/18/2011

the tough life of a 1%er

[Slackjaw Mcgraw]

12:23 PM on 11/19/2011

Guess he erally needs that $225 then.

[whscms]

12:50 PM on 11/18/2011

this is why attorneys have such a bad name. this guy should be disbarred for nonsense suits that waste the court's time and public assets

[tjdwill02]

01:14 PM on 11/18/2011

The airlines attorneys should have been intelligent enough to have put and expiration date on the coupons. Any company knows that unless you truly don't care when someone redeems the coupon, it should have an expiration date.

[Linda Stare]

06:32 PM on 11/18/2011

Precisely. We are, however, talking about a discount airline company that, despite their own wrongdoing, doesn't even have the intelligence or wherewithal on how to keep their bread-and-butter passengers who have contributed the most to their success, sustainability, and profitability: SWA's frequent flyers. SWA's frequent flyers PAID for this perk by continually and regularly flying on SWA, and now SWA clearly sends the message that it could care less about their frequent flyers' loyalty, commitment, and business. So when a company no longer respects and cares about their repeat and frequent passengers (customers), they are simultaneously sending the message to their first- or second-time customers that they obviously don't respect and care about their business as well. I was once one of those frequent flyers on SWA over seven years ago, flying on SWA 4 times or more per month from coast-to-coast. SWA lost me due to rude customer service and stunts similar to this one. Frequent flyers do not have to put up with this abuse: choose alternative methods of travel like I have. You can start with your own vehicle or take Amtrak.

[cphilly215]

01:35 PM on 11/18/2011

Fine Print says the those coupons can be discontinued at any time. And holders of those coupons were notified for a year and a half prior to the coupons becoming useless. The lawyer didn't read the fine print and ignored all the notices sent out. I bet you Southwest has records of all the emails sent to Adam levitt about the coupons being discontinued. The email that Adam Levitt gave them and the same one he apparently chose to ignore.

[Linda Stare]

07:23 PM on 11/18/2011

The e-mails don't mean a dam[n] thing. Adam Levitt is not only thinking about himself. He's also including all the other frequent flyers of SWA who have been scammed by this discount air carrier. And when SWA started printing expiration dates on these drink coupons this past August, they set themselves up for the $64,000 question: Why didn't SWA place expiration dates on the frequent flyer drink coupons INITIALLY when SWA offered them as a perk to their frequent flyers? Frequent flyers could easily have chosen so many other airlines--and airlines that offer first-class and business-class accommodations with assigned seating but at least with an organized boarding process--to travel with, but the drink coupons, as well as all the other Rapid Rewards (RR) perks ("free" trips on SWA, discount travel internationally, cruises, hotel stays, car rentals, gift cards, "and more") were used as a bait-and-switch scheme to keep them from doing business with other air carriers. Haphazardly changing the rules of any one or more of the RR perks is tantamount to a bait-and-switch SCHEME. And bait-and-switch schemes don't sit too well with Americans and their culture.

[kandjcats]

12:31 PM on 11/18/2011

The tickets expired, what does he not understand. It has been in thier policy for years. For law suits like this, I wish the people getting sued would turn around and sue the person who is wasting the time of the company, as well as the court system, which in turn, I end up paying for.

[boopcat93]

01:13 PM on 11/18/2011

No read it again. His tickets did not have expiration dates. New coupons being issued will have expiration dates. He paid for the coupons, so he should be entitled for what he paid for.

[CheapIdiots]

12:08 AM on 11/23/2011

No read it again it gives SWA the right to change the program. If you need a $5 drink then Southwest should charge $50 bag fee they don't do now so go for it.

[bdk5859]

11:51 AM on 11/18/2011

Another freeloader - if he's got enough coupons for 45 free drinks he must nevber use them so he's just looking for any easy pay check

[Paul Conrad]

12:08 PM on 11/18/2011

The coupons were paid and bargained for already. Read the article.

[Kathie Shaffer]

01:05 PM on 11/18/2011

i know, it's frustratjng !!

[Linda Stare]

05:45 PM on 11/18/2011

I don't believe they passed 4th grade reading comprehension.

[forrealdog]

12:16 PM on 11/18/2011

He obviously accrued these coupons by flying Southwest Airlines quite often (1st /Business class...maybe even a valued customer) Afterall, the article does state that he is an attorney. Hmmmm maybe his occupation requires him to travel. WAKE UP MORON

[jmslotnick]

11:46 AM on 11/18/2011

I fly Southwest if I fly anywhere they go to and defend them too, but when they changed this policy they should have notified of this somehow or someway. I think Mr. Levitt is being rather ridiculous suing for what was to be free to begin with. He gets free baggage from them, more than most airlines give. I think what he is doing is shameful and petty.

[cphilly215]

01:22 PM on 11/18/2011

Belive me. Not only were passengers notified for a year and a half that those coupons would become obsolete, but it's written in the contract they could be discontinued at anytime. A LAWYER THAT DOESNT READ THE SMALL PRINT? LMAO! Note to all. Don't ever choose Adam Levitt for your lawyer. He can't even read the small print.

[jmslotnick]

06:48 PM on 11/18/2011

Thanks for the info. I happen to love Southwest and hope this fool gets zilch. He is an ambulance chaser I guess.

[kerrywenrich]

11:40 AM on 11/18/2011

the more you drink the sooner and more often you'll have to use the bathroom

[Eric De Loach]

11:40 AM on 11/18/2011

Another Jack-Ass lawyer trying to make a name for himself.