Delta Air Lines has reached a nearly $79 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit over a 2020 fuel dump over properties in Los Angeles and Orange counties, according to court papers obtained Thursday.
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Delta has denied wrongdoing in the incident, in which tens of thousands of properties, including homes and schools in both counties, were hit by jet fuel.
The settlement, which is awaiting a judge's approval in L.A. federal court, will be distributed among 38,000 property owners and residents, papers show.
The case stemmed from a January 2020 incident in which a Delta flight to Shanghai from Los Angeles lost thrust shortly after takeoff.
A Federal Aviation Administration investigation later cleared the pilots of wrongdoing, Delta said.
Delta pilots jettisoned about 15,000 pounds of jet fuel from the Boeing 777 before returning to Los Angeles International Airport.
Property owners argued that the pilots needlessly dumped fuel at a low altitude over densely populated areas, instead of dumping it over the Pacific Ocean or at a high altitude so it would dissipate, or by burning fuel by flying in a holding pattern.
Filippo Marchino, a lawyer for the property owners, said the settlement brings recovery to the class members both in terms of monetary recovery, as well as non-monetary relief.
"We are especially pleased to obtain this result for residents of the southeast L.A. communities, comprised of hard-working families who asked only for respect and just treatment and rightly deserve this result," the attorney said in a statement sent to City News Service.
A hearing in the pending settlement is scheduled for Sept. 15 in downtown Los Angeles before U.S. District Judge John A. Kronstadt.
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