Supreme Court Hears Minnesota Rabbi’s Frequent Flier Case
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of a Minnesota rabbi who claimed he was cut from an airline’s frequent flier program for earning too many miles.
Oral arguments in the case of Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg were heard on Tuesday.
Ginsberg was one of Northwest Airlines’ top fliers when he was cut from its program in 2008. Northwest has since been absorbed by Delta.
The rabbi, who acquired his frequent flier miles by consulting with educational organizations, says the airline was targeting top miles earners. Northwest counters that Ginsberg complained too frequently — 24 times in a seven-month period.
The case hinges on whether federal regulatory discretion extends to routine lawsuits such as this one.
Ginsberg says Northwest’s actions were a breach of contract. Lawyers for the airline, backed by the Obama administration, say handing Ginsberg a victory could open the door to chaotic state-to-state differences on what is and is not litigable.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.
If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.
Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO