Sacked pilots denied appeal to top court
Friday, July 29, 2011
The Court of Appeal has dismissed a bid by a group of former Cathay Pacific pilots to take their claims of wrongful dismissal and defamation to the Court of Final Appeal.
The appeal court ruled that the 18 pilots had failed to prove their case was "reasonably arguable as a matter of law," and therefore, not appropriate as questions of general importance.
The decision of Court of Appeal Vice President Frank Stock and justices Susan Kwan Shuk-hing and Johnson Lam Man-hon was made last Friday, but the reasons were handed down yesterday.
The pilots were also ordered to pay costs.
However, their lawyer said they will apply directly to the Court of Final Appeal.
The case goes back more than a decade, when 49 pilots who participated in industrial action in June 2001 were dismissed by the airline.
Last December, the Court of Appeal overturned a High Court ruling that awarded each plaintiff HK$3.3 million for defamation, slashing the amount to HK$700,000.
It also overturned the findings of wrongful dismissal.
Cathay was originally ordered to pay the 18 pilots a total of HK$56.1 million, but this was reduced by the Court of Appeal to HK$11.9 million.
The pilots are appealing this, saying they have suffered huge loss of earnings, and that as professionals they had been accused of being unprofessional. In addition, Cathay has never apologized for the defamation.
The pilots also claim Cathay had bypassed Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures in dismissing them.
Sacked pilots denied appeal to top court - The Standard