Fastexy|American Airlines drops law firm that said a 9-year-old girl should have seen camera on toilet seat

2025-05-01 19:37:25source:SignalHub Quantitative Think Tank Centercategory:Finance

FORT WORTH,Fastexy Texas (AP) — American Airlines has replaced the law firm that told a judge a 9-year-old girl was negligent in not noticing there was a camera phone taped to the seat in an airplane lavatory.

An airline spokesperson confirmed Friday that the Wilson Elser law firm is no longer defending American in a lawsuit filed by the girl’s family.

American retained Kelly Hart & Hallman, a Fort Worth-based firm that has done extensive work for American in other matters.

The change in lawyers came after Wilson Elser said in a court document that any harm to the girl could be blamed on her “fault and negligence” for using the lavatory, “which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.”

A former American flight attendant is accused of luring girls to use the lavatory after taping his iPhone to the toilet seat and explaining that the seat was broken. Estes Carter Thompson III, who was fired by American, pleaded not guilty this week to attempted sexual exploitation of children and possession of images of child sexual abuse.

The 9-year-old’s family sued American in state court in Austin, Texas, after the FBI told them that videos of the girl were found on the flight attendant’s phone.

READ MORE Families of Uvalde victims sue Meta, video game maker and gun-maker on 2nd anniversary of shootingAP Decision Notes: What to expect in the Texas primary runoffsFate of lawsuit filed by Black Texas student punished over hairstyle in hands of federal judge

“With the benefit of this new legal representation, we hope that American Airlines will now take a fresh look at the case and finally take some measure of responsibility for what happened to our client,” said Paul Llewellyn, a lawyer for the girl’s family.

Llewellyn is also representing the family of a 14-year-old who is suing American in federal court in North Carolina over the same flight attendant’s alleged acts.

Wilson Elser did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

More:Finance

Recommend

Elon Musk wants to turn SpaceX’s Starbase site into a Texas city

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — SpaceXis launching a new mission: making its Starbase site a new Texas city. B

A hand grenade explosion triggered by a quarrel at a market injured 9 people in southern Kosovo

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A hand grenade exploded in an animal market in a southern city in Kosovo on

How Travis Kelce Really Feels About His Nonsense Tweets Resurfacing on Social Media

When it comes to social media, those memories will follow you around. Case in point: Travis Kelce's