Bacardi USA, the American affiliate of the international liquor company, filed a lawsuit in federal court on April 19 against the Dallas-Fort Worth-based American Airlines over a dispute involving the disappearance of a high quantity of liquor.
According to the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court in Pasadena, California, 24 pallets of cognac, a type of brandy brewed in the French region of the same name, were loaded onto an American Airlines plane in Paris, France, on September 20 of last year.
However, when that same flight arrived in Los Angeles, six pallets and three cases, representing over one-quarter of the total cargo load, had vanished. Each pallet contained approximately 70 cases.
The complaint does not directly accuse American Airlines pilots, flight attendants, or other personnel of stealing the spirits in question, simply stating that “while in the possession, custody, and control of the defendant, six pallets and three cases were lost or stolen.” Bacardi USA lists the value of the 423 cases of missing cognac in the lawsuit at $65,820.72.
The lawsuit also states that due to American Airlines not repaying Bacardi USA for the loss, “[b]y reason of the premises, Defendant breached and violated its common law and contractual duties and obligations as a common carrier and bailee.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting travel restrictions by various local governments, American Airlines and many other carriers saw a significant reduction in the number of passengers flying in 2020 and 2021. Accordingly, the amount of cargo space available on flights increased, leading many airlines, including American Airlines, to begin carrying cargo on passenger flights to various destinations across the country. American Airlines also added cargo-only flights to its schedule during 2020.
Bacardi sells three cognac brands in the United States, marketed under the labels Otard, D’ussé Cognac, and Gaston De LaGrange. The company was founded in Cuba in 1862, and Cuban-American author Ernest Hemingway famously enjoyed its brand of rum. The U.S. affiliate is headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida, in the Miami area.
Neither American Airlines nor Bacardi USA has responded to media requests for comment on the lawsuit.
