lost luggage

I left an unchecked item on an airplane on Feb 10th. The item was my laptop. It took me 4 days to get in touch with a live person because their lost luggage phone line is an answering system stating that they will get back to you in the order the call was recieved. I finally reached a live person by chance because they never returned my call. This person was very helpful and through calls and e-mail was able to track down information on the laptop. Apparently the head flight attendent did not "find" it until they were pulling away from our arrival airport. (which was funny because they do a walk-through cleaning the plane and looKing for items left behind.) They went ahead and took the laptop to the next destination which was McCarren Airport in Las Vegas. From there he was supposed to turn it in to their lost and found. The second option would have been to turn it into Airport Authority. From what he said, he handed off to the gate agent at the podium. As of last thursday 2-21, I was told they tracked down who was working the gate at that time by the work schedule. This person was on vacation and would be back Sunday. It was at this point the Representative that had been tracking down my laptop said to me, "It doesn't look good" Probably because the laptop was not in the lost and found or with Port Authority. I called yesterday and found that my case has been transfered because I asked "if they do not find it will they replace it since it was proven that the airline employees were the last to have possesion of my laptop?" She said she didn't know and they could argue I left it on the plane. I called Delta and spoke to a supervisor to get an opinion on their process and she told me they wouldn't be responsible because it was an unchecked item. I have not talked to the supervisor who is taking over my case yet and I want to know if I have a legal right to ask the airline for the money. Since the laptop was said to have not been found until after the plane was pulling away from the turnstile, and the flight attendent admitted to taking possesion, I feel I have a right to be reimbursed since they lost the item. I find it hard to believe they didnt find it until after the plane was pulling away because we were the last passengers off the plane and I was observing them cleaning the plane. Also, whoever sat in the seats we were in would have seen the laptop right away because it was on the floor visibly under the seat in frount. The passenger would have noticed it before the doors of the airplane shut and not as they were pulling away. What rights do I have?

[judg4]

Once they take possession they do have a duty to you--Based on what you say here, you could file suit against them (or at least threaten to do so) in small claims court or in regular court; filing in small claims court is easier and requires no attorney...you could try to collect all of the costs and damages that you suffered due to their behavior...