After winning a $3 settlement from Sabre in an antitrust case last year, American Airlines seeks to tack on millions in recovered attorney's fees.
In a July hearing, attorneys for American said its submission for attorney's fees would be $150 million.
In a court filing last month, American argued that antitrust law is clear. The airline said its victory "achieved precisely what the antitrust laws were designed to encourage -- private enforcement to eliminate anticompetitive conduct. That is why the Clayton Act mandates attorney's fees for prevailing plaintiffs."
Sabre argues that because American lost three of the four claims and was awarded just $3 on the final claim (the initial award of $1 was automatically tripled under antitrust law), any award should be minimal.
In a Dec. 9 brief, Sabre attorneys said American "should get, at most, a minute fraction of its fees to account for its miniscule recovery."
In the verdict last May, a federal jury in New York found Sabre guilty of exercising monopoly power in airline distribution, supporting a 2011 claim by US Airways (American inherited the case after it acquired US Airways in 2013). But the seven-person jury awarded a $3 penalty after concluding that American failed to prove that provisions in the Sabre-US Airways contract restrained trade.
During closing arguments, American's attorney had asked the jury for an award of nearly $300 million in overcharges and lost profit.