American Airlines has agreed to pay $45 million to settle a lawsuit that says it and other major U.S. airlines colluded to drive up the price of airfares. In settling the case, American denied any wrongdoing. The company, in a statement, said fighting the case in court would be costly. Earlier this year, Southwest Airlines also reached a settlement in the case, agreeing to pay $15 million. Southwest also denied any wrongdoing. The lawsuit alleges that major U.S. airlines colluded to limit capacity in order to increase ticket prices.

Based on the paragraph above can we conclude that "The events took place in 2019"?
It's impossible to say