Taking on Norwegian Air

[Drew32]

Hello friends.

Help me out here.

I had a luggage claim against this Scandinavian company a couple of years ago. This one -

https://www.norwegian.com/en/

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, trading as Norwegian, is the third largest low-cost carrier in Europe, the second-largest airline in Scandinavia, and the ninth-largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger numbers. Wikipedia




Bag information: In economy, prices vary by itinerary. More Norwegian Air Shuttle bag information



Customer service: 1 (800) 357-4159


Technical support: 011 47 815 11 540


Stock price: NWARF (OTCMKTS) $32.31 -0.59 (-1.79%)
Dec 20, 4:00 PM EST - Disclaimer


Headquarters: Bærum, Norway


CEO: Bjørn Kjos (Oct 2002–)


Hub: Oslo Airport, Gardermoen





When they refused to pay for a damaged suitcase and about £400 of missing clothing, I took them to Court in the UK - their UK subsidiary was this one -

Name & Registered Office: NORWEGIAN AIR UK LIMITED FIRST POINT BUCKINGHAM GATE GATWICK AIRPORT ENGLAND RH6 0NT Company No. 09360346

Status: Active Date of Incorporation: 18/12/2014 Country of Origin: United Kingdom Company Type: Private Limited Company Nature of Business (SIC): 51101 - Scheduled passenger air transport Accounting Reference Date: 31/12 Last Accounts Made Up To: 31/12/2015 (FULL) Next Accounts Due: 30/09/2017 Last Return Made Up To: 18/12/2015 Next Confirmation Statement Due: 01/01/2017 Mortgage: Number of charges: 3 ( 3 outstanding / 0 satisfied / 0 part satisfied ) Last Members List: 18/12/2015 Previous Names: 12/03/2015 WESTFORCE AVIATION LIMITED

In Court, at an application hearing requesting strike out, they stated I needed to sue the parent company in Norway and that they were the wrong entity to hold responsible as my booking was with Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA in Norway.

The Judge allowed it to continue but I dropped it in return for a better communication with their Norway head office about compensation, as taking on a Norwegian company would be too problematic, even using the European Union small claims cross border procedure. This 'communication' though turned out to be worthless. These people are complete and utter scumbags.

The one thing I ended up with was some cashpoints to use to purchase a flight, worth £50. I sued them towards a flight Gatwick to Bangkok.

Then, on this damn flight, they managed to delay my bag for almost a week, and I had to spend £200 on clothes and toiletries.

They are refusing to pay ANYTHING.

So Legal Beagles, I really want to take this company to Court in the UK, using their UK operation. Can I do this? I booked the flight in the UK.

BTW, since the case two years ago ,there are two more Norwegian owned subsidiaries on Companies House - here they are:

Name & Registered Office: NORWEGIAN AIR RESOURCES SHARED SERVICE CENTER AS, BRANCH UK BRANCH REGISTRATION REFER TO PARENT REGISTRY Company No. FC033363

Status: Active Date of registration: 01/05/2016 Country of Origin: NORWAY Company Type: Other company type Nature of Business (SIC): None Supplied Accounting Reference Date: Last Accounts Made Up To: (NO ACCOUNTS FILED) Next Accounts Due: Last Return Made Up To: Next Confirmation Statement Due: Mortgage: Number of charges: ( 0 outstanding / 0 satisfied / 0 part satisfied ) Previous Names: No previous name information has been recorded over the last 20 years. UK Establishment Details BR018449 NORWEGIAN AIR RESOURCES SHARED SERVICE CENTER AS, BRANCH UK 1 ST KATHARINE'S WAY LONDON E1W 1AY 01/05/2016 AIRLINE OPERATIONS PROVIDER OF ADMINISTRATIVE SHARED SERVICES Oversea Company Info Registered at: CARDIFF on 01/05/2016 Country of Origin: NORWAY Parent Registry: REGISTER OF BUSINESS ENTERPRISES Registration Number: 899178432 Governing Law: NORWAY Legal Form: LIMITED LIABILITY Number of UK Establishments: 1 Open Documents held at Company / UK Establishment office: BR018449 Required to publish accounts from: 01/01 to 31/12 within 6 Accounts delivered to: 20141231 Objects of the Company: PROVISION OF CREW SERVICES AND OTHER SERVICES THAT ARE NATURALLY CONNECTED HERE

Name & Registered Office: NORWEGIAN AIR RESOURCES UK LIMITED 150 ALDERSGATE STREET LONDON UNITED KINGDOM EC1A 4AB Company No. 09462762

Status: Active Date of Incorporation: 27/02/2015 Country of Origin: United Kingdom Company Type: Private Limited Company Nature of Business (SIC): 78109 - Other activities of employment placement agencies Accounting Reference Date: 31/12 Last Accounts Made Up To: (NO ACCOUNTS FILED) Next Accounts Due: 27/01/2017 Last Return Made Up To: 27/02/2016 Next Confirmation Statement Due: 13/03/2017 Mortgage: Number of charges: ( 0 outstanding / 0 satisfied / 0 part satisfied ) Last Members List: 27/02/2016 Previous Names: No previous name information has been recorded over the last 20 years. UK Establishment Details There are no UK Establishments associated with this company. Oversea Company Info There are no Oversea Details associated with this company.

[Drew32]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

Anybody?

[R0b]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

Anybody?

Hi drew, the short answer is no. If you contract with one party you cannot then choose or decide to sue a subsidiary of that company because you don't wish to sue the correct company. The law (in England and Wales and no doubt in norway too) recognises that you can't sue a person if they were not party to an agreement. It is only the names of those parties who can sue and be sued unless otherwise agreed.

When you issued proceedings against the subsidiary, Norwegian Air were right to strike it out on the grounds that the wrong party is named. But the judge was correct in that you didn't have to sue only in Norway, this is because from vague memory, there are certain european regimes that control jurisdiction and other things. The Lugano Convention 2007 would be appear to be the correct application and that states that a consumer may sue in either their own country or the other party's where they are domiciled.

As to what law applies, English or presumably Norwegian will depend on the terms of the contract that you agreed to at the time.

[R0b]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

I would however add to that, european case law has also suggested that a term which purports to establish the governing law in the suppliers domiciled country, may be unfair on consumers though it is up to the court to determine whether or not there is an imbalance or lack of good faith.

[Drew32]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

The agreement I signed last time states I won't take out any future legal claims against the for new matters that come up - that can't be legally binding can it?

[R0b]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

Of course it can be legally binding, it is not uncommon for companies (their lawyers to be precise) to draft up some wording that would say something like the parties agree X Y Z in full and final settlement in connection with or arising out of the claim or something like the parties undertake not to bring any further claims in connection with the present claim.

If you have signed an agreement like that then yes you cannot bring any further claims relating to the same matter. If you do then I would expect them to pursue you for any costs incurred in doing so as that's what I would do.

for new matters

If the wording explicitly says however all future claims or seems to imply that, then I would say that the wording is unenforceable as it would breach your right to bring a claim in the future which does not have any connection with the claim you are bringing. So if this claim relates to lost baggage but you use Norwegian Air in 12 months time and turns out that you are entitled to compensation for flight delay, then they can't prevent you from bringing a claim for the compensation.

[Drew32]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

It basically says any new claims in the future not related to this claim at all.

[R0b]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

Without knowing the full wording and if it says just that, then I don't think it is reliable as it needs to be clear and specific and cannot just be a blanket ban. For example you cannot contract out of certain things by law

[Drew32]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

Okay here is the wording -

"We would be prepared to offer you the sum of CENSORED (inclusive of all legal costs and expenses) in full and final settlement of any and all claims which you have or may have against Norwegian Air and any of its group companies whether existing now or in the future.

This settlement is conditional on you keeping the terms of the settlement (including the existence of the settlement agreement) strictly confidential and you discontinuing the claim and you agreeing not file any further legal claims against Norwegian and any of its group companies."

This does, in hindsight, seem somewhat unlawful to me - you cannot sign away your rights under the law surely? If I signed something stating a person could do me hard then would they be legally able to get away with hurting me?

This was, to repeat, for an old claim. I have since flown with Norwegian again, and am now wishing to take one of their group companies to Court - i.e. a subsidiary.

What do you think guys?

[R0b]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

On the face of it, it woud appear to be unlawful to an extent. Because they are trying to make you release all claims but as I've said previously, you cannot contract out for personal injury or fraud whereas the wording of this would appear to cover that too.

It has been held lawful to waive all claims in connection with the claim whether known or unknown at the time or in the future, but I am not aware of any court upholding a clause which means that the person can never bring a claim against the company in the future where the claim is entirely unconnected to the one that has been settled.

For something like that to be enforceable, it would have to be unequivocally clear and set out the type of claims that cannot be brought, but I am still of the opinion that they cannot prevent you from bringing an unconnected claim not relatedo to the facts of your previous claim.

Also, reading the terms it says that the terms of the settlement are confidential and by disclosing them on the forum you are in breach of the confidentiality so I would suggest your remove the above post.

[Drew32]

Re: Taking on Norwegian Air

Quick question - issue is with company A - based in Isle of Man - they are owned by company B, based in the UK - can I sue company A?