FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - A lawsuit against American Airlines by one of its flight attendants is headed to a jury trial.
Kimberly Goesling, 52, of Fort Worth is suing American Airlines for hiring a celebrity chef who allegedly sexually assaulted her during a business trip to Germany.
The Fort Worth-based airline filed a motion for a summary judgment, but Court Judge Kimberly Fitzpatrick denied that motion, clearing the way for the jury trial to begin on January 24th.
"We're very pleased because, of course, this means that we get to tell Kimberly's story to a Tarrant County jury and give them the opportunity to make the right decision in this case and stop this kind of conduct," says Robert Miller, Goesling's lead attorney.
Goesling says in her lawsuit that American Airlines hired Chef Mark Sargeant to develop a special international menu for first-class and business-class passengers, despite prior allegations of alcohol abuse and sexual misconduct against him.
Goesling says during the January 2018 trip, Sargeant forced his way into her room at around 3:30 a.m. and sexually assaulted her.
When she brought up the incident to human resources, Miller says the airline retaliated.
"They (previously) asked her to do all the charity events (and) all the special functions," says Miller. "And then this happened, and she reported it, and immediately they shut her down and tried to silence her."
Goesling, who's been working for American Airlines for more than 30 years, says she was removed from the airline's recruitment team after she reported the incident to the company.
She also says that American reneged on its promise to pay for her treatment and to allow her time away from work shifts as needed.
While not commenting on pending litigation, American Airlines says in a statement that it severed its business relationship with Sargeant.
"American has an unwavering commitment to its team members and we're committed to providing a safe and comfortable environment for everyone who works at our airline," American's statement reads. "Immediately after the incident was reported, we conducted an investigation and severed our business relationship with the accused individual. Because this matter involves ongoing litigation, we aren't able to comment further at this time, other than to say that Ms. Goesling remains a valued member of our team."
Miller says despite having a sexual harassment policy in place, American Airlines has a history of ignoring such incidents and retaliating against those who report them.
"We have affidavits in this case going back for decades of flight attendants that were harassed or, in fact, sexually assaulted," says Miller. "They all say they were intimidated and silenced, and it was made clear to them if they pursued it ... (they) won't fly again."