Tarrant County district court judge has decided to allow a sexual assault claim against American Airlines to proceed. Judge Kimberly Fitzpatrick rejected the airline’s motion for summary judgment, which would have dismissed the case.
“Having considered defendant’s motion, Plaintiff’s response to same, the pleadings on file in the case, the admissible evidence and the arguments and authority cited by counsel, the court denies defendant’s motion,” wrote Fitzpatrick in the November 8 order.
Kimberly Goesling, a flight attendant based in Fort Worth, alleges that she was sexually assaulted by a British celebrity chef while they were both working for the Dallas-headquartered airline in Germany in 2018.
“Our case has exposed that American Airlines has a culture of silence when it comes to sexual harassment, sexual exploitation, or sexual assault,” said attorney Robert Miller of Miller Bryant LLP in Dallas. “If you read their written policies, their publications, and all the things they say publicly, they sound like a company that really works hard to prevent sexual harassment or oppression but in the real world, that is absolutely not the case.”
Miller is Goesling’s trial attorney. A jury trial is set to begin on January 24.
“We have affidavits from flight attendants back into the seventies who were actually raped by pilots,” Miller told Dallas Express. “They reported it and they were told if they pursued it, they would not fly anymore. So, for 50 years, American’s unwritten policy is if somebody complains about harassment or assault, they get the lawyers involved. They try to silence them. They try to intimidate them. They get into all their personal business. There’s almost nothing they won’t do to shut people down so that they can make sure the story doesn’t get out.”
Goesling, who has a 30-year flight record, first publicly told the story of what happened to her – and American’s role in it – in a 2021 Instagram video called “The Truth about American Airlines” that went viral.
“It’s pretty scary to put your name out there, admit you’ve been sexually assaulted, and reveal that your employer won’t step up and do the right thing,” Miller said in an interview. “When Kimberly saw and experienced everything that America did to shut her down and silence her, she decided people needed to know who she was because she’s been a superstar at the airline. They selected her for all the charity events when there were new planes to be tested and new programs. She was one of the flight attendants that they went to.”
Despite having sued the company, Goesling is still working for American Airlines.
“It’s been beyond challenging,” Miller added. “Think about having to go to work every day, knowing that all your coworkers know this happened to you and that American Airlines is not taking responsibility and you still have to put on that uniform, get on an airplane and answer the other members of the crew’s questions. Many of the crew members she flies with have been very supportive. Management at American Airlines has not.”