CrowdStrike has filed a motion to dismiss Delta Air Lines’ lawsuit stemming from a July cybersecurity incident that caused widespread flight cancellations and passenger disruptions. The cybersecurity firm argues the suit attempts to bypass contractual terms between the companies, including a liability cap and limits on damages. Delta had blamed CrowdStrike for the outage, seeking over $500 million in compensation for financial losses.
CrowdStrike’s filing, submitted Monday evening, cites Georgia law as a basis for its defense. The company claims Delta’s lawsuit improperly converts a breach of contract into tort claims, which Georgia’s economic loss rule prohibits. Delta, headquartered in Atlanta, is accused of circumventing agreed-upon contract terms.
The July outage reportedly cost Delta millions in refunds, accommodations, and operational losses, along with potential long-term impacts on its reputation and an ongoing Department of Transportation investigation. Despite these issues, Delta continues to use CrowdStrike’s services, likely due to the complexity of transitioning cybersecurity systems on such a large scale.
CrowdStrike emphasized its responsiveness during the crisis, stating that its offers of assistance were declined by Delta. The filing includes internal messages from Delta executives, including one reportedly stating, “We are good for now,” as evidence of the airline’s stance during the incident. CrowdStrike also highlighted that other airlines recovered more swiftly, suggesting Delta’s internal practices contributed to the prolonged disruptions.
“Delta was an outlier,” the filing states. “Although Delta acknowledges that it took just hours—not days—for its employees to remediate the outage, cancellations far exceeded the disruptions its peer airlines experienced.”
The legal battle follows a tumultuous period for CrowdStrike, which saw its stock plummet 44% after the outage before recovering due to strong quarterly performance and the resilience of its enterprise products. A Delta spokesperson was unavailable for comment on the recent developments.
