Can corporations avoid consumer class actions? Why do appeals courts deal with only legal issues? What are the prerequisites to raising a legal issue on appeal? Why does changing the description of a debt change a creditor's rights in bankruptcy? What is small claims court? Do military personnel enjoy the same constitutional protections in a criminal case that civilians do? What is a statute of limitations? What is an interference hearing and how does it affect patent protection? In what ways can the Court of International Trade help domestic industries compete with imports? If the Constitution only mentions the Supreme Court, how did all the other federal courts develop?

Am I entitled to compensation from the airline if my baggage is lost or damaged?

Am I entitled to compensation from the airline if my baggage is lost or damaged?

The airlines' treatment of baggage is a constant source of passenger complaints. At some point, nearly every airline passenger has waited for what seemed like an eternity for his or her baggage to show up on the baggage carousel.

To be fair, most of the time baggage does arrive in good shape on the same flight that you were on. When your luggage is damaged, delayed or lost, however, the results can be disastrous. The best way to protect yourself from the most serious losses is to follow one simple rule: Never put anything valuable or irreplaceable (such as jewelry), or that you might urgently need (such as medications), in checked baggage. Your compensation will rarely cover your actual loss.

If your baggage is lost or destroyed, the compensation that the airline owes you depends on whether you were flying on a domestic or international flight.

• Domestic flights. An airline can limit the amount it must pay if baggage is lost, damaged or delayed to $2,500 per passenger. You can get around this limit by declaring at check-in a higher value for the baggage, up to the airline's maximum. If you declare a higher value, the airline will charge you a fee based on a percentage of the declared value. The airline then becomes liable up to the declared value if it loses, damages or delays delivery of the baggage, unless the airline can prove that the actual loss was lower than the declared value.
  
  
• International flights. The Warsaw Convention provides the rules that determine the liability for lost, delayed or damaged baggage. Unfortunately, these rules will not work to your advantage. Damages are calculated based on the weight of the baggage, regardless of the real value of the baggage or its contents. The Warsaw Convention states that the value for lost or damaged baggage is $9.07 per pound (or $20 per kilogram). If your bag was weighed before the flight, then the value is determined by multiplying the weight of the bag times $9.07. For example, a 20-pound bag would be valued at $181.40. If your bags were not weighed, the airline will generally assume that all of your bags weighed a total of 70 pounds, and will reimburse you $634.90.

To add insult to injury, an airline can completely avoid responsibility for lost or damaged baggage if it can prove that the damage was caused by error in piloting, in the handling of the aircraft or in navigation, and that, in all other respects, the airline and its agents took all necessary measures to avoid the damage.

Are there any legal protections for the credits I earn in a frequent flyer program?

While frequent flyer programs can provide you with some travel bargains, understand that there are few legal protections for the credits you earn. Under the rules of almost all frequent flyer programs, the airline can change award levels, have credits expire or even cancel the whole program without warning.

How is mediation different from arbitration?

A mediator normally has no authority to render a decision. It's up to the parties themselves -- with the mediator's help -- to work informally toward their own agreement. An arbitrator, on the other hand, conducts a contested hearing between the parties and then, acting as a judge, rends a legally binding decision. Arbitration resembles a court proceeding: Each side calls witnesses, presents evidence, and makes arguments. Although arbitration has traditionally been used to resolve labor and commercial disputes, it is growing in popularity as a quicker and less expensive alternative to going to court.

Arbitration has its critics, however. There has been a lot of controversy lately about big businesses requiring their customers or employees to arbitrate disputes with them, rather than taking those disputes to court. Often, these arbitrations are conducted under rules that favor businesses -- for example, damages are limited, time limits for filing a claim are shortened, or information sharing is cut off. Some courts have ruled that businesses can't require consumers and employees to participate in these one-sided proceedings, although others have ruled differently.

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