In Ireland, Ryanair asks judge to step aside after 'kills me stone dead' remark

Ryanair is pushing to have District Court Judge Stephanie Coggans removed from every case involving the airline, citing past remarks, including her saying flying Ryanair "kills me stone dead," which it says reflect bias against the carrier.

Here's what to know

At Balbriggan District Court on Oct. 8, Ryanair's senior counsel, Martin Hayden, said the question was whether a reasonable outsider would see a risk to a fair hearing, according to The Irish Times. On that basis, he asked Coggans to step back from any matter touching the airline, arguing that her repeated comments conveyed "hostility" and "dislike."

Ryanair backed the request with an affidavit from Thomas McNamara, the carrier's director of legal, who set out remarks he said Coggans had made in other proceedings.

Among the examples McNamara cited was a case about a passenger who missed a flight. In that matter, he said, Coggans observed that Ryanair does not make last calls "because I travel with them myself, although it kills me." The judge later said, per The Irish Times, "It kills me stone dead."

Hayden said Ryanair was not complaining about one stray remark. Rather, he told the court, the comments added up to a pattern that reads as a personal dislike of the airline as a business and as a party in court.

He added that criticism of Ryanair may be "trendy," and that the airline deals with that "day in and day out," but said it "should not have to deal with it from the bench."

More background

The statements Ryanair relies on arose in ordinary disputes brought by passengers, not in some wider debate about legal principles.

McNamara said one of those matters was brought by a man who claimed he was still at the gate when it closed, missed his flight, and never heard "a last call."

In that same hearing, McNamara said Coggans told a witness there "is frequently what I can only describe as a forceful method of dealing with people and that is what drives them mad, and that is what drives me mad, and I think sometimes people are treated very badly when very, very, very, very, very considerable amounts of money are made in profit."

McNamara noted that Coggans also rebuked the way passengers are treated, telling the airline, "It wouldn't kill you to be halfways polite to people."

McNamara also referred to a separate small-claims dispute over €950 involving a woman who thought she had booked flights to Italy for her family. He said she discovered only the day before departure that her payment had been declined and the reservation had never gone through.

According to McNamara, Coggans called Ryanair's booking process in that case "an absolute disgrace" and said the airline had "got lucky" when the woman's claim failed on legal grounds.

The airline further pointed to an exchange that followed its complaint to Coggans about remarks made in another matter. McNamara said she replied, "I said that the issue of Ryanair appearing with solicitor and counsel at all times when people are here as claimants with nobody lacked balance."

What's being done?

Through the recusal motion, Ryanair is seeking an order that Coggans hear none of its cases. Hayden said the governing question is whether an informed observer would conclude there is a risk the airline might not get a fair and impartial hearing.

As part of that submission, Hayden cited a 2010 dispute involving Peter Kelly, then a High Court judge. Ryanair had asked Kelly to step aside after he remarked in a separate case that "the truth and Ryanair are uncomfortable bedfellows."

Kelly initially rejected the bias claim. But in 2011, once Ryanair moved to challenge his refusal at the Supreme Court, Kelly stepped aside from that single case, reasoning that such an appeal could delay proceedings by up to three years.

Coggans said she is reviewing McNamara's affidavit, the arguments from counsel, and the case law before deciding on Dec. 2 whether she will go on to hear matters involving Ryanair.

Where can I learn more?

The Ryanair fight lands amid a run of legal battles over airlines, airports, and aviation policy. They include rulings on airport noise, airline marketing, greenwashing claims, and what qualifies as a green investment.

• In the Netherlands, a judge halted the government's plan to curb Schiphol Airport noise pollution.

• A Dutch court ruled against KLM for misleading travelers with its environmental marketing.

• In Denmark, judges found KLM guilty over ads promoting "sustainable travel."

• The EU General Court said private jets can qualify as green investments.

• In Puerto Rico, a judge made a preliminary ruling on Exxon, Chevron, and Shell's conduct.

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