American Airlines sues Skiplagged

I think AA will have a tough time winning this one. The practice is not illegal and it could be argued that AA has no standing. The teen who was kicked off his flight and banned for 3 years would probably have a better chance with this.

Additionally, the lawsuit claims that Skiplagged does not employ American Airlines travel agents and thus has no authority to form contracts on behalf of the airline with the passengers. Furthermore, the airline is suing the website for trademark and copyright infringement for the unauthorized use of the airline's logo on the website.
The airline reportedly expressed its frustration that in such a situation, the skiplagger is intentionally leaving a seat empty which could have been beneficial for another passenger with an actual need for flying that particular sector.
https://simpleflying.com/american-airlines-skiplagged-lawsuit/

There are some issues AA might have a decent chance in winning, and has a valid point about a seat not being available for someone who needs it.

The problem would go away if the pricing were more rational. ( A to B =$500- distance 600 miles; A to C, with a stop at B =$300- distance A to C 1000 miles)

There are parts of this that will be incredibly easy for AA to win... Trademark infringement.. - easy win. They can't just use AA's logo anymore than RickSteves.com could.

I think they will win all of it. It's a contract you knowingly enter into. There's nothing in the law that I am aware of that says "you can unilaterally break the contract" which is what you do with skiplagging.