United Airlines Lawsuit Tracker: What Is Open, What Pays, What You Do
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There is no single United Airlines lawsuit. As of October 6, 2026, three cases matter to ordinary people. Retirees in a $27.5 million severance settlement are waiting for automatic checks. Passengers who paid for a window seat without a window have a proposed class action that survived dismissal. And on October 5, 2026 the Supreme Court refused to hear United’s challenge to a class of employees placed on unpaid leave under its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Only the retiree settlement pays money, and nobody has to file a claim.
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Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
The Three Cases and What Each One Alleges
Retiree severance (Hoffman). Former employees allege United promised that anyone who retired and then saw a better severance program offered within three years would get that better deal. They say United then denied them the cash benefits of its Voluntary Separation Program 2 (June 2020), its Frontline Voluntary Separation Leave program (January 2021) and Voluntary Separation Program 3. The claims were brought under ERISA and, in the alternative, Illinois contract law.
Windowless window seats (Brenman). Passengers allege United charged extra for seats marked “window” on the seat map that sit next to a blank wall, where air-conditioning ducts or other equipment replace the window. One plaintiff says she paid $169.99 in seat fees. The claims are for breach of contract. United argued that “window seat” describes a position in the cabin, not a promise of a view.
Vaccine-mandate accommodations (Sambrano / Kincannon). Employees allege that United’s August 2021 vaccine mandate violated Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Their complaint is that United “accommodated” workers with religious exemptions by putting them on indefinite unpaid leave. According to the Fifth Circuit, 5,885 employees requested an accommodation and 4,070 were granted. United denies wrongdoing in all three cases.
Case Details
Hoffman v. United Airlines, Inc., No. 1:21-cv-06395, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Judge John J. Tharp, Jr. The court dismissed the case on May 1, 2025. The plaintiffs appealed to the Seventh Circuit, the parties settled, and the appeals court sent the case back to the district court so it could approve the deal.
Brenman v. United Airlines, Inc., No. 3:25-cv-06995, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Judge James Donato. It was filed August 19, 2025 and amended October 15, 2025 to add plaintiffs (docket).
Sambrano v. United Airlines, Inc., No. 4:21-cv-1074, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The class-certification appeal was Fifth Circuit No. 24-10708, decided March 9, 2026. United’s Supreme Court petition was United Airlines, Inc. v. Kincannon, No. 26-183.
Status of Each Case as of October 6, 2026
Brenman: active, discovery stage, no settlement. On July 6, 2026 Judge Donato denied United’s motion to dismiss, rejecting its argument that the Airline Deregulation Act preempts the claims. A May 18, 2026 order directed United to produce documents on “partial window” seats and bundled seat-selection fees by June 15, 2026. No class has been certified.
Sambrano: active, class certified, no settlement. The Fifth Circuit affirmed certification of a subclass of religious-accommodation seekers placed on unpaid leave. On October 5, 2026 the Supreme Court denied United’s petition for review; Justice Kavanaugh would have granted it. The case returns to the trial court. Liability has not been decided, and no money is payable.
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Are You Part of One of These Cases?
Retirees: you are in the Hoffman class if you retired from United between August 17, 2017 and December 31, 2020 and missed the cash benefits of VSP2, VSP3 or VSL only because you had already retired. That includes people who signed a release. There are about 8,600 class members. United’s records identify them, so a mailed or emailed class notice is the practical sign that you are on the list.
Passengers: the Brenman complaint proposes a class of people who paid for a United window seat that had no window. No class has been certified, so there is nothing to join and nothing to file.
Employees: the certified Sambrano subclass covers religious-accommodation seekers whom United placed on unpaid leave. It does not cover workers with medical accommodations or workers who were only subject to masking and testing.
Who Gets Money, and How Much
Window seats and vaccine mandate: no settlement, no fund and no claim form. The window-seat plaintiffs seek monetary and punitive damages, but no court has awarded anything. In the vaccine case, the class plan contemplates backpay calculated by formula only if the employees win.
United Airlines Lawsuit Timeline
- 1
August 2021 — Vaccine Mandate
United requires every U.S. employee to be vaccinated. Workers seeking religious or medical exemptions sue in the Northern District of Texas.
- 2
August 19, 2025 — Window-Seat Suit Filed
Passengers file Brenman v. United Airlines in the Northern District of California over seats sold as window seats without a window.
- 3
March 9, 2026 — Fifth Circuit Affirms Class
The Fifth Circuit upholds certification of the subclass of religious-accommodation seekers placed on unpaid leave.
- 4
July 6, 2026 — Window-Seat Case Survives
Judge James Donato denies United’s motion to dismiss. The breach-of-contract claims go forward.
- 5
September 1, 2026 — Retiree Settlement Approved
The court grants final approval of the $27.5 million Hoffman settlement. Class counsel said shares would be calculated on or around October 1, 2026; we have not confirmed that checks have gone out.
- 6
October 5, 2026 — Supreme Court Declines Review
The Supreme Court denies United’s petition in No. 26-183, leaving the vaccine-mandate class certification in place.
Three Things to Watch For
A settlement that mails checks to retirees, plus two widely reported cases with no money yet, gives imposters easy openings:
“Pay a fee to release your retiree check”
Hoffman payments go out automatically by U.S. mail, with no claim form. There is no claim form to file, so nobody needs to pay or send you a form. Check any contact through the official HoffmanSettlement.com site.
“Claim your window-seat refund” forms
The window-seat case has no settlement and no claims process. A site asking for your MileagePlus login, card number or boarding passes to “file” is collecting data, not filing anything.
“Join the vaccine class before it closes”
The court certified a subclass defined by who sought a religious accommodation and was put on unpaid leave, not by a sign-up. Anyone who charges a fee to “enroll” you is selling something the court process gives for free.
United Airlines Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Is there a United Airlines settlement I can file a claim for?
Not as a passenger. The only settlement paying money as of October 6, 2026 is the $27.5 million Hoffman settlement for retirees, and it requires no claim form. Find other open settlements on our open settlements list.
When will the retiree severance checks arrive?
The court granted final approval on September 1, 2026. Class counsel said shares would be calculated on or around October 1, 2026 and checks mailed shortly after, provided no appeal is filed. Make sure the administrator has your current mailing address.
I paid for a window seat and got a wall. Can I get money back?
Not through the lawsuit yet. Brenman v. United Airlines (No. 3:25-cv-06995) survived United’s motion to dismiss on July 6, 2026 but is still in discovery, with no class certified and no settlement. Keep your receipt or seat-fee record in case that changes.
What did the Supreme Court decide on October 5, 2026?
It declined to hear United’s challenge to the class certification in the vaccine-mandate case. That is not a ruling on whether United broke the law. It means the certified subclass stays in place and the case goes back to the trial court.
Who is in the vaccine-mandate class?
Employees who sought a religious accommodation from United’s 2021 mandate and were placed on unpaid leave. The courts rejected broader classes, including medical-accommodation seekers and employees subject only to masking and testing.
Can I still object to or opt out of the retiree settlement?
No. The objection deadline was August 12, 2026, and the settlement was certified as a class with no opt-out. All class members are bound by the final judgment.
Are the 87 wage-and-hour investigations lawsuits against United?
No. They are federal Department of Labor investigations at establishments operating under the United Airlines name, between 2002 and 2023. An investigation is an agency inquiry, not a lawsuit and not a finding against the parent company.
What other United Airlines lawsuit might I see in the news?
Individual passenger injury suits are filed against United regularly in federal courts; they are not class actions and do not involve other travelers. For a different airline case, see the Frontier Airlines data breach lawsuit.
Separate from this case: were you injured in the last 2 years?
Class-action payouts are fixed amounts through an administrator. A personal injury claim is a different case — and often worth far more. Free estimate, no obligation.
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