The lawsuit filed by Delta against CrowdStrike in the wake of the recent worldwide outages has received the company’s initial response and the company is not holding back.
Per ReutersIn a letter to Delta, drafted by outside counsel, CrowdStrike rejects the claim that it should be held responsible for the flight disruptions on July 19, 2024, the day the incident occurred.
The organization apologizes for the inconvenience, but is “deeply disappointed by Delta’s suggestion that CrowdStrike acted inappropriately and strongly rejects any accusation that the organization was grossly negligent or committed misconduct.”
Crowdstrike’s rebuttal
Delta itself is currently struggling with a research by the US Department of Transportation about why it took six days to recover from the incident – longer than other leading airlines. It cancelled more than 6,000 flights, affecting 500,000 passengers.
CrowdStrike believes that any damages for which it is found liable in the lawsuit should be contractually capped at several million dollars, suggesting that the company is not trying to get out of it entirely.
However, the software company also claims that it contacted Delta after the incident to offer “on-site assistance (…) but has not received a response.” According to Reuters, this was confirmed by Delta CEO Ed Bastian in a statement last week CNBC interview.
CrowdStrike also alleges that Delta’s own mistakes will be exposed in the lawsuit, and a spokesperson, in a final damning blow, called Delta’s actions in the press “public posturing” and the lawsuit “baseless.”
In the meantime, it is hoped that Delta will “work cooperatively,” which almost certainly implies a desire to settle or have the lawsuit withdrawn rather than having it dismissed in court.