Montenegro Airlines, which is in bankruptcy, has launched the second court case against its successor airline, Air Montenegro. This time, it is because Air Montenegro is using cabin crew uniforms that belonged to Montenegro Airlines despite them forming part of the assets awaiting liquidation as part of bankruptcy proceedings.
Montenegro Airlines sues Air Montenegro – again
Back in July, we reported that Montenegro Airlines sued Air Montenegro for copyright infringement. The issue was the livery of Air Montenegro, revealed in June 2021. The aircraft tail features the eagle symbol, which is the signature logo of Montenegro Airlines.
Montenegro Airlines is now at it again, suing Air Montenegro for using its cabin crew uniforms, CdM reports. The court case was filed at the end of 2021, and the first hearing will be on 15th February 2022.
As part of the court case, Montenegro Airlines is asking to be compensated for what it claims are damages it incurred. It is not specifying the amount of money it is claiming; this will be determined by a financial economics expert.
The court case asserts, among other claims (translated):
“Article 10 [of Montenegro Airlines’ uniform policy] prescribes that a uniform should only be worn while on duty, and Article 23 that employees whose employment with Montenegro Airlines ends may choose to keep the work uniform or its accessories under the condition of paying a fee corresponding to the commissioning price and the usage period.”
So what happened to the uniforms?
It would appear that the former operative employees of Montenegro Airlines, who largely got re-employed in Air Montenegro when Montenegro Airlines was shut down over unsustainable debts, kept their uniforms. The court case also alleges that these employees are using the uniforms at work for Air Montenegro.
This presents a problem for Montenegro Airlines because the uniforms are supposed to be one of the numerous assets that the bankrupt airline needs to auction off in order to pay off its old debts.
These debts also include unpaid wages to its staff, including the cabin crew staff who are now working for Air Montenegro in Montenegro Airlines’ uniforms.
As evidence of its claims, Montenegro Airlines has submitted photographs of Air Montenegro cabin crew wearing Montenegro Airlines uniforms in some recent Facebook posts while at work.
Furthermore, Montenegro Airlines is asserting that it is both the employees of Air Montenegro Airlines as well as Air Montenegro who are in the wrong.
This is because the employees have not returned their uniforms or paid for them, while the employer (Air Montenegro) cannot claim not to have known about this issue when the Head Pilot and the Head of Cabin Crew at Air Montenegro are both former employees of Montenegro Airlines.
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