American Airlines fired their legal team after blaming a nine-year-old girl for filming in a plane bathroom by a male flight attendant.
Estes Carter Thompson III, 37, was arrested in January after allegedly recording four underage girls — ages 7, 9, 11 and 14 — using the bathroom aboard several AA flights. He has pleaded not guilty.
In its response to a lawsuit filed by the nine-year-old girl’s family, the airline argued that it was not liable to the alleged victim because it should have realized that the bathroom was equipped with a recording device.
The airline was forced to issue a groveling apology, blaming their external legal counsel for the mistake and have since confirmed to DailyMail.com that they have changed lawyers.
“As a result of the intense media and public reaction surrounding the outrageous allegation, we are not surprised to hear that American Airlines has dismissed its law firm,” Paul Llewellyn, an attorney representing the young girl and her family, told DailyMail.com
One victim entered the bathroom and noticed red stickers on the underside of the toilet seat lid stating that the seat was broken
“With the benefit of this new legal representation, we hope that American Airlines will now take a fresh look at the matter and finally take some measure of responsibility for what happened to our client.
“Otherwise, we are confident that a Texas jury will do the right thing and hold American Airlines accountable.”
Llewellyn’s firm told the story The Dallas Morning News It was announced on Friday that Kelly Hart & Hallman, LLP would now represent the airline.
American Airlines raised several defenses in the filing, including that it is not responsible due to “the doctrine of comparative negligence, contributory negligence, comparative responsibility and/or comparative causation.”
The airline’s legal defense continued: “Defendant would demonstrate that any injuries or illnesses allegedly suffered by Plaintiff, Mary Doe, were substantially caused by Plaintiff’s own fault and negligence, and that they were likely caused by the use from plaintiff of the compromised toilet, which she knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device.”
Estes Carter Thompson III (pictured), 37, was arrested in January after allegedly capturing four underage girls – ages 7, 9, 11 and 14 – while they were using the bathroom
The plaintiff’s attorney, Caroline Recupero, said, “In other words, American Airlines is blaming a 9-year-old girl for being filmed by an American Airlines flight attendant, arguing that the child knew or should have known that it airplane toilet contained a recording device. .
“It is our company’s position that this allegation is both embarrassing and absolutely outrageous.”
She added: ‘It is our company’s position that this claim is both embarrassing and absolutely outrageous.’
American Airlines faced backlash online and even the threat of a boycott due to the legal response.
The airline said it was a mistake by their outside legal counsel, who was hired by their insurance company.
“The attached defense is not representative of our airline and we ordered it to be changed this morning,” AA told DailyMail.com on Tuesday.
American Airlines confirmed to DailyMail.com that they have subsequently changed their legal representation
“We do not believe this child is guilty and we take the allegations involving a former team member very seriously.”
In the lawsuit, the girl’s parents allege that Thompson took photos of the girl in January 2023 while she was using the bathroom on the flight en route to Los Angeles. The girl and her family were on their way to Disney World and a gymnastics competition.
The images, recovered by the FBI from Thompson’s iCloud, showed the girl’s face, buttocks and genitals, according to the complaint.
The alleged child abuse material was found after Thompson was arrested after a 14-year-old girl told her family about the camera in the plane’s bathroom.
The FBI subsequently found other victims, including the nine-year-old from Texas, after searching his devices and iCloud, as well as AI-generated pornography.