Mesa will seek to overturn court ruling on damages for Hawaiian Airlines

Nov. 2, 2007

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Mesa Air Group Inc (Nasdaq: MESA) will seek to overturn a ruling made yesterday (31 October) by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Hawaii.

Under the ruling, which was made in the breach of contract lawsuit brought by Hawaiian Airlines Inc, the court found that Mesa violated the terms of a confidentiality agreement with Hawaiian Airlines and awarded Hawaiian USD80m in damages.

Mesa said that the ruling comes from the court's finding that the Mesa's executive vice president and chief financial officer, George Peter Murnane, intentionally and in bad faith destroyed evidence pertinent to Hawaiian's case against Mesa. According to Mesa, Murnane was placed on administrative leave effective 21 September 2007, pending the conclusion of its internal investigation regarding his actions.

Although the company intends to appeal the ruling, it said it anticipates being required to post a bond or letter of credit as security.

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