Delta Air Lines has retained renowned attorney David Boies to fight for damages from CrowdStrike and Microsoft following the infamous software outage.Â
This incident happened on July 19.
It led to millions of computers crashing and caused widespread disruptions, including the cancellation of thousands of Delta flights.
The outage, triggered by a CrowdStrike software update, significantly hit Microsoft systems.
It disrupted numerous industries with airlines being particularly affected.Â
The Department of Transportation is investigating Delta’s extensive flight disruptions and service failures during this period.
Delta’s financial impact has been severe, with losses estimated at between $350 million and $500 million.
The airline is also managing over 176,000 refund or reimbursement requests due to the cancellation of nearly 7,000 flights.
Although Delta has not filed a lawsuit yet, the airline plans to seek compensation from Microsoft and CrowdStrike.
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The extent of the damages highlights the significant repercussions of the outage.
Insurance startup Parametrix estimates that this resulted in a total loss of $5.4 billion for Fortune 500 companies, excluding Microsoft.
David Boies, chairman of Boies Schiller Flexner, is a high-profile attorney.
Boies is known for his role in major cases such as the US government’s antitrust case against Microsoft and the overturning of California’s ban on gay marriage.
He also represented high-profile figures like Harvey Weinstein and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.