Court orders firm to pay N2.6m damages over negligence

A Magistrate’s Court in Lagos has ordered an online travel company, Wakanow.com Limited to pay N2,620,580 to its customers, Okechukwu Jackson and Ezeh Chisom Cynthia over negligence in procuring their flight tickets.

The trial Magistrate, O.O Ekundayo ruled that the company bears greater responsibility since it offered Qatar Airlines tickets to the claimants but failed to inform them of all the terms and conditions of the carriage.

The Magistrate held that a traveller who relies on the recommendations of a travel agent and suffers damage because of actions or inactions of the agent is liable.

The claimants had purchased N777,580 ticket from the defendant for a trip through Qatar Airlines, but the 2nd claimant (Cynthia) was denied boarding because she was pregnant and didn’t disclose it.

Delivering judgment, the Magistrate held: “Having insightfully considered the evidence on record and documentary evidence in support, the court cannot but hold that the airline denied the 2nd claimant boarding specifically because her agent, Wakanow.com Limited did not inform her about a Medical Clearance Form that she was meant to get from Doha, the capital of Qatar, and was meant to fill the Form and send it back to DOHA.

“Therefore, the defendant must pay the claimants the entire sum of N777,580, which the claimants paid as airfare, but was unutilised due to the error.”

On the defence that it could not help the claimants when they were not lifted by Qatar Airlines because the claimants deliberately withheld and failed to disclose the information about the pregnancy of the 2nd claimant at the time of booking, the court held that the claimants having intimated the defendant that they were denied boarding and the reason for the denial, it would have rescheduled the claimants on another flight.

“The procurement of the subsequent travel ticket was due to the negligence on the part of the defendant who failed to give the claimants the full, fair, and clear disclosure of all the terms and conditions of the airline ticket purchased.

“Hence, I hold that the claimants must not only be compensated adequately but have a valid right to a refund of the subsequent ticket money paid,” the Magistrate declared.

Magistrate Ekundayo therefore ordered the defendant to pay the claimants the sum of N777,580, the sum paid to the defendant for the flight tickets, which was unutilised.

The court also ordered the defendant to refund the sum of N1,693,000, the sum used to secure another travel ticket, pay N50,000 cost and N100,000 damages, totaling N2.6 million to the claimants.