Published: Friday, May 24, 2024
American Airlines replaced the law firm which told a Texas judge that a 9 year old girl was negligent for not noticing a camera phone on the toilet seat of an airplane.
A spokesperson for American confirmed on Friday that the Wilson Elser firm no longer represents the airline in the lawsuit brought by the girl’s parents.
American hired Kelly Hart & Hallman of Fort Worth, a firm that had previously worked extensively for American on other matters.
Wilson Elser, in a court filing, said that the girl’s “fault and neglect” in using the toilet “which she should have known or knew contained a visible recording device,” could be blamed for any harm.
Former American flight attendant accused of inducing girls to use toilet after taping iPhone to toilet seat, and explaining the seat to be broken. Estes Carter Thomson III, who was terminated by American, has pleaded guilty to charges of attempted sexual exploitation and possession of images depicting child sexual abuse.
After the FBI informed the family that the FBI had found videos of the 9-year old girl on the flight attendants’ phone, the family filed a lawsuit in Austin, Texas.
Paul Llewellyn is the lawyer representing the family of the girl. He said, “We hope that American Airlines now takes a fresh look at this case and will finally take responsibility for what happened to the client.”
Llewellyn represents the family of 14-year old who has sued American in North Carolina federal court over the same flight attendant’s alleged actions.
Wilson Elser didn’t immediately respond to our request for a comment.