The case brought by Delta against CrowdStrike in the wake of the recent global outages has seen its first response from the company, and it isn’t holding back.
Per Reuters, CrowdStrike is, in a letter to Delta authored by an external lawyer, rejecting claims that it should be held responsible for flight disruptions on July 19, 2024 - the day the incident arose.
It remains apologetic about the inconvenience caused, but is “highly disappointed by Delta's suggestion that CrowdStrike acted inappropriately and strongly rejects any allegation that it was grossly negligent or committed misconduct."
Crowdstrike’s rebuttal
Delta itself is currently facing an investigation from the US’ Department of Transportation over why it took six days to recover from the incident- longer than other leading airlines. It cancelled more than 6,000 flights, affecting 500,000 passengers.
CrowdStrike believes any resulting damages it is found liable for in the trial; should be “contractually capped at the amount in the single-digit millions”, which suggests that it isn’t trying to wriggle completely off of the hook.
However, the software company also maintains it reached out to Delta following the incident to offer “onsite assistance [...] but received no response.” Per Reuters, this was confirmed last week by Delta CEO Ed Bastian in a CNBC interview.
CrowdStrike also maintains Delta’s own failures will rear their ugly head in the trial, and a spokesperson, in a final damning blow, referred to Delta’s actions in the press as “public posturing” and its lawsuit as “meritless”.
Meanwhile, it hopes Delta will “work cooperatively”, almost certainly implying it wants to settle or have the lawsuit withdrawn instead of thrown out of court.
