Either way, the amount is a refund of $203, an amount close to the amount of the expense reimbursement component that she is claiming in full, where she did not receive a refund. Where it received a refund - no charge.
Assaf Cohen, Ella Lev, Lian Lev, Meir Lev (Plaintiffs Nos. 36-39)
- In a statement of claim, there is no requirement for reimbursement of expenses.
- In his affidavit, he stated that it was explained to them that anyone who needed accommodation or an alternative flight arrangement should approach one of El Al's representatives. They knew that the flight operator was taking care of the hotel, and they arrived at the hotel independently - they took a train and when they got off the train they waited for the shuttle. The flight operator assured them that they would have 2 rooms, but at the hotel they were told that there was only one room left in which they would stay and they were reluctantly given the room that was only suitable for a couple with a bed and a sofa while they were four people . It should be noted that according to him, two rooms were booked in advance and he did not contact the station manager to update him on the matter, not even in Israel when he applied for reimbursement of expenses. It can be said that theoretically they could have left the hotel and taken another hotel with two rooms or split up for the same night, thus saving the defendant. However, where she booked two rooms, as far as she was concerned, she paid for two rooms, and if the cost of a room is $250 and they were compensated by $300 per passenger (as revealed by his testimony), it seems to me that this can heal the unpleasantness that was created.
- In his testimony, he stated that he had received a refund of $300 for each of the plaintiffs + ILS 103 in return for the insurance extension (p. 111 of the transcript, and see Appendix G to the affidavit of Mr. Avi Zamir, El Al's customer relations representative, when he was signed). They received accommodation services from the defendant and that they did not share with the defendant about the quality of the hotel. According to him, El Al transferred him and the other plaintiffs he represents to a hotel, and he confirmed that it took care of them for the hotel. The room was small and not suitable for family occupancy and had only a bed. They did not attach receipts for expenses. On the one hand, he did not demand a refund, but there is no claim that he received a refund for food, on the other hand. However, this is a hotel on the part of the defendant who claimed that there were meals in the hotel and it was not claimed that there were no meals and that is why no refund was requested. It was not claimed that receipts were issued or kept, and therefore there is difficulty in compensating for this component. As for transportation, they did not claim what is the minimum amount of a train that should be presumed to be deducted from taxis, but taking into account that most of them took taxis, there is also no possibility of making an estimate at this point when he did not claim for it, and it can be assumed that the shuttle was free of charge (when the station manager described that they did take the passengers from the hotels that were stored through the defendant back to the airport).
Ephraim Cohen and Shelly Bar-Tal (Plaintiffs Nos. 19-20)
- In the statement of claim, they demanded expenses for food and drink, taxis and a hotel in the amount of $620.4.
- The affidavit stated that at first they were told that they might receive accommodation arrangements at the hotel, but in practice they did not receive anything, and after a few hours they heard a representative of the flight operator say that if there was someone who could independently arrange accommodation, he would do so and bring the receipts of both the accommodation and the trips in order to be credited. The cost of the room at the Sister City Hotel that they independently found is $459.5 (it should be noted that the reception states a total of $11.80 for a purchase from the hotel restaurant). Taxis to the airport and hotel cost $123.12. Personal economy cost $35.9 (food cost $61 but it was stated in the next section that the payment for food and drink was more than what was shown and the rest of the receipts were not found).
- In their testimony, they stated that they did not contact El Al in order to receive the refunds (p. 4, as well as 7-8 of the transcript of April 9, 2025). It should be noted that an affidavit of the main witness was submitted on behalf of plaintiff 20 and on behalf of plaintiff 19, but plaintiff 20 did not appear for the evidentiary hearing or for the supplementary hearing, and on his behalf plaintiff 19 was interrogated. According to Mr. Ephraim's testimony in his affidavit, they remained in the field until about 4 o'clock, and therefore they should be compensated according to the cost of a voucher of $15 per person, that is, $30 for two people. Add to this $459.5 for the hotel, $123.12 for the taxis, and $166 for the food (since the cost was claimed to have been more than $30 for both for two days). In total, they should be compensated in the sum of $778.62.
Eliyahu Segal and Gili Unger (Plaintiffs Nos. 21-22)
- In their statement of claim, they petitioned for reimbursement of expenses for food, drink, taxis and hotels totaling $888.4 .
- Their affidavit was not found scanned among the affidavits submitted to the court, even though the plaintiff was questioned about paragraph 7 of the affidavit, when it was also stated that in the affidavit she stated that they had been informed that anyone who could take a taxi and a hotel would do so and submit receipts for refunds.
- The testimony revealed that although they knew of their right to compensation subject to the presentation of receipts, they chose not to contact the defendant in this matter before the legal proceedings were filed (p. 114 of the transcript). The plaintiff confirmed that they had been informed that anyone who could take a taxi and a hotel would do so and submit the receipts and receive a refund. She described that there was only one room with a single bed and they slept together in a single bed (this is a hotel they came to independently) and then on the second day they moved them to a room with a normal double bed and they paid for the first and second day. The receipts regarding taxis are for 4-5 trips. She doesn't know what the unicef comment on the hotel reception means. According to the defendant, some of the receipts that were attached to the affidavit are irrelevant and in any case below the amount claimed for refund, but the defendant does not specify how much was requested and how much the receipts indicate in relation to the part that is relevant, when it is her job to do so, the same applies to taxi rides where it is not clear whether it is a trip to the airport and back (when there are receipts that are clear and the destination appears on them) and therefore, The court relies on the aforesaid as long as it is not concealed, while examining the relevance of the receipts with regard to the cross-examination. Whereas the statement of claim was attached in a mixture of receipts for all the plaintiffs, whereas the affidavit was attached to receipts according to each plaintiff and the defendant does not present the amount that according to it should be compensated, when the amount is reasonable considering two nights in the hotel, food (since according to the estimate it would have been $166 for both of them) since it was reported that they spent on food and this is not hidden, as well as the expenses of a taxi to and from the airport, The defendant will pay the plaintiffs the unconcealed sum of $888.
Gal Becker and Aviram Becker (Plaintiffs 1-2)
- The statement of claim does not refer to any specific issue.
- In the affidavit, it was stated that they received a hotel from the defendant near the airport.
- The testimony stated that they were given a hotel and tried to look for flights with other airlines but could not find them, and the operator's representative said there was none. It was explained that they did not attach receipts because they did not purchase anything (pp. 84-85 of the minutes of March 13, 2024) since the hotel was not in a place where you could buy anything. According to this line, it is possible that they did receive meals at the hotel provided by the plaintiff and it was not claimed that they did not keep receipts, but that they did not purchase anything and therefore there is no possibility of reimbursement of expenses.
Galit Rob, Ilai Zeckler and Yaheli Zeckler - Minors (Plaintiffs Nos. 6-8)
- In the statement of claim, she petitioned for expenses for food and drink, taxis and a hotel in the amount of $252.37.
- In her affidavit, she stated that the defendant transferred the plaintiffs to a hotel. The hotel was musty according to her claim and did not include meals so she ate out with her children. She does not have receipts for the purchase of food and drinks.
- In her testimony, she confirmed that she did not submit any receipts to the defendant for her alleged expenses. She stated that the requested sum was based on her memory (of Galit, most of the plaintiff). According to her, she was not given two rooMs. There was one bed in the room for 3 people. When she was confronted with the fact that there were two rooms because her husband, who is not a plaintiff, was also with her and confirmed that he slept with them, and therefore she was asked why she did not divide the rooms and replied that she would not put two small children in a room that was not with her. In any case, it appears that they did receive 2 rooms (and if she received a hotel it is not clear why in her statement of claim she petitioned for a charge for hotel expenses, even though the amount is lower than it is that also includes food and travel) but she shared the bed with her two small children. When confronted with the fact that she was the only one who said that there were no meals in the hotel, she said that she had inquired and that there were no meals and that she had gone out to buy breakfast at a gas station. She then confirmed that there were meals and said that she paid for food but she doesn't keep receipts and that buying a breakfast guest for three people is a lot of money because New York is expensive. She wrote a total of $252.37 for meals from her memory, which is generally thought. When asked if it was from memory, how accurate she was, she didn't know how to answer. Despite the exact amount, she admitted that she did not attach receipts and therefore the defendant believes that her demand for reimbursement of expenses should be rejected in limine.
According to the testimony of Mrs. Zeckler (p. 45, s. 21)) they remained in the field until about four o'clock, and therefore they should be compensated according to the cost of a voucher of $15 per person, i.e., for three a total of $45. It should be added that taking into account that there were meals at the hotel and that she testified that she bought food but did not keep receipts, the sum will be set at a total of $200 for food for two days for all three of them and $45 as aforesaid, so that the sum of $245 must be compensated.