LIMITED LIABILITY FOR LOST ITEMS

After security workers at San Jose International Airport allegedly lost a carry-on bag containing more than $100,000 in jewelry, the bag’s owner attempted to sue for damages. However, a split panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Warsaw Convention limits the liability of the security company and the airline to $400 for lost carry-on baggage. According to the Associated Press, Ester Dazo placed her bag on the X-ray scanner and proceeded through metal detector machines before boarding a flight to Toronto in 1999. When she went to collect her bag, she claimed it was not there and sued Globe Airport Security Services, TWA, Continental and America West airlines. The 9th Circuit upheld the decision of a California federal judge, who threw the case out due to the limited liability outlined in the Warsaw Convention.