American Airlines claimed a child was at fault for being secretly recorded in a restroom. It’s now changing its response
After American Airlines in a legal response blamed a 9-year-old girl for using an airplane bathroom that had a recording device allegedly placed there by a former employee, the airline now says it has requested that its law firm change its response. The company was responding to a civil lawsuit filed against American Airlines claiming the girl, listed as Mary Doe, was “secretly filmed while using the airplane toilet” during an American Airlines flight in January 2023. A former American Airlines flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson, 37, who federal investigators say secretly recorded several minors while they used the bathroom on different American Airlines flights last year, is also named in the lawsuit filed in Texas. The former employee is facing federal child sexual exploitation charges. The incident involving the 9-year-old occurred during a flight from Austin, Texas, to Los Angeles, California, the lawsuit states. American Airlines initially argued that the girl was at fault and negligent because she used a lavatory “she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.” In response to CNN’s request for comment on Monday’s filing, American Airlines said the filing was made in error by outside counsel retained by the airline’s insurance company. “The included defense is not representative of our airline, and we have directed it be amended this morning,” American Airlines said in a statement Wednesday. “We do not believe this child is at fault and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously.” Attorney Paul Llewellyn, who is representing the girl and her family, said he believes American Airlines’ change in direction was in response to public backlash. “To claim that they filed the ‘wrong’ answer is simply not credible, but the bell cannot be unwrung [sic],” Llewellyn told CNN in a statement Wednesday. “They should never have taken such an outrageous position in the first place.”<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2024-05-23/oneworld/american-airlines-claimed-a-child-was-at-fault-for-being-secretly-recorded-in-a-restroom-it2019s-now-changing-its-response
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American Airlines claimed a child was at fault for being secretly recorded in a restroom. It’s now changing its response
After American Airlines in a legal response blamed a 9-year-old girl for using an airplane bathroom that had a recording device allegedly placed there by a former employee, the airline now says it has requested that its law firm change its response. The company was responding to a civil lawsuit filed against American Airlines claiming the girl, listed as Mary Doe, was “secretly filmed while using the airplane toilet” during an American Airlines flight in January 2023. A former American Airlines flight attendant, Estes Carter Thompson, 37, who federal investigators say secretly recorded several minors while they used the bathroom on different American Airlines flights last year, is also named in the lawsuit filed in Texas. The former employee is facing federal child sexual exploitation charges. The incident involving the 9-year-old occurred during a flight from Austin, Texas, to Los Angeles, California, the lawsuit states. American Airlines initially argued that the girl was at fault and negligent because she used a lavatory “she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.” In response to CNN’s request for comment on Monday’s filing, American Airlines said the filing was made in error by outside counsel retained by the airline’s insurance company. “The included defense is not representative of our airline, and we have directed it be amended this morning,” American Airlines said in a statement Wednesday. “We do not believe this child is at fault and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously.” Attorney Paul Llewellyn, who is representing the girl and her family, said he believes American Airlines’ change in direction was in response to public backlash. “To claim that they filed the ‘wrong’ answer is simply not credible, but the bell cannot be unwrung [sic],” Llewellyn told CNN in a statement Wednesday. “They should never have taken such an outrageous position in the first place.”<br/>
