This is another opinion from earlier in the year (May) that I haven't yet reported on.
In People ex rel. Harris v. Delta Air Lines, Inc., 247 Cal.App.4th 884 (2016), the Attorney General brought a UCL "unlawful" prong action against Delta Air Lines, alleging that Delta's mobile app violated the Online Privacy Protection Act (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§22575-79). The Court of Appeal (First Appellate District, Division Three) affirmed the trial court's holding that this claim was expressly preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978.
Of interest is the Court's conclusion that the claim "related to" Delta's air transportation services:
We also reject the Attorney General's argument that the complaint does not relate to Delta's services. By its complaint, the State seeks to compel Delta to maintain its Fly Delta mobile application in compliance with the OPPA's privacy policy requirements. The Fly Delta mobile application, selected and designed to facilitate access to the airline's services, is a marketing mechanism "appropriate to the furnishing of air transportation services." (Wolens, supra, at p. 228.) As alleged in the complaint, the Fly Delta mobile application, at a minimum, "may be used to check-in online for an airplane flight, view reservations for air travel, rebook cancelled or missed flights, pay for checked baggage, track checked baggage, and access a user's frequent flyer account." Thus, it is clear, beyond cavil, that the complaint does "relate to" Delta's services in that the allegations have a "connection with, or reference to" Delta's services.
Id. at 901.
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