Nader v. Allegheny Airlines, Inc.
United States District Court for the District of Columbia
445 F. Supp. 168 (1978)
Ralph Nader (plaintiff) bought a ticket for an Allegheny Airlines (defendant) flight to a speaking engagement and was told he had a 'confirmed reservation,' but Allegheny never disclosed its practice of intentionally overbooking flights; Nader, who had previously experienced overbooking with other airlines only as a mistake, was removed from his flight under Allegheny's overbooking policy and missed his engagement. Nader sued for fraudulent misrepresentation based on Allegheny's failure to disclose its overbooking policy.
Whether a statement in a business transaction, which the maker knows or believes to be materially misleading because of his failure to include any qualifier, is a fraudulent misrepresentation.