USAPA Legal Update
Today, Friday, April 23rd, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to deny the motion to stay the District Court injunction as well as the emergency motion recently filed by USAPA. The Circuit Court also ordered that their denial of the emergency request was without prejudice, meaning that USAPA is free to bring its motion back to the District Court at anytime going forward. This ruling was not entirely unexpected given the context, since it follows the public announcement that the merger discussions between United and US Airways have been terminated, which was the basis for the emergency motion.
In its motion, USAPA was reacting to public announcements, and as a merger remains a possibility USAPA is prepared to renew its request as needed going forward. The ruling has no impact on the pending merits of the appeal. As we previously communicated to the pilots, the District Court in February stayed all lower court proceedings pending a decision by the Ninth Circuit, leaving only the injunction. Also, as it has been almost 5 months since USAPA’s oral argument, a full decision is expected from the Ninth Circuit sooner than later.
A copy of the Ninth Circuit’s ruling will be posted shortly to the Legal Library on the USAPA web site.
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Ya gotta love the spin. Like the judges were somehow influenced by the merger rumors.