A trial in Fort Worth began Monday between American Airlines and retired flight attendant Kimberly Goesling over an alleged 2018 sexual assault that she says was encouraged by airline management.
Jurors in Tarrant County District Judge Kimberly Fitzpatrick’s court will hear from as many as 30 witnesses for as long as three weeks. In the end, jurors will determine whether American helped conspire in the January 2018 incident in which Goesling alleges British celebrity chef Mark Sargeant sexually assaulted her in her hotel room during a business trip in Germany.
A 30-year flight attendant, Goesling also alleges American and its lawyers retaliated against her after she reported her sexual assault and egregiously intimidated her in an attempt to silence her, which led to her retirement in December after she sent an explosive resignation letter to American CEO Doug Parker.
“What we discovered is this airline does everything in its power to shut down the victim … intimidate and silence them,” Rob Miller, Goesling’s lead attorney, told The Texas Lawbook. “She had literally been one of American’s superstar flight attendants, but when she reported this everything changed.”
American and its lawyers at Kelly Hart & Hallman declined to comment on the case or answer specific questions.
Goesling was a flight-crew leader at American and worked on the airline’s recruitment and training teams — for which she received glowing reviews and led to special assignments, her lawyers said.
In January 2018, Goesling was one of a couple of flight attendants selected to fly to Germany to help develop a special international menu for the airline’s first- and business-class passengers. Sargeant was spearheading the culinary efforts.
Goesling alleges Sargeant sexually assaulted her after barging into her hotel room at 3:30 a.m. on the last night of the trip. Court documents filed by Goesling’s lawyers referred to depositions of an executive and the chef revealed Sargeant pursued her after American executives encouraged him to, telling Sargeant over shots of Jäegermeister at the hotel bar that Goesling had “a clit-on” for him.
“It’s inconceivable to me. If I hadn’t sat through those depositions, I wouldn’t believe it,” said Miller, an attorney in Dallas at Miller Bryant.
In court documents, Goesling and her lawyers say vice principals at American provided “three things” to Sargeant that night: “alcohol, encouragement to pursue Goesling sexually and Goesling’s hotel room number.”
When Goesling reported the incident to HR, she alleges the first thing she was asked was what she was wearing. She alleges American also didn’t follow through on promises to pay for her therapy or allow her time away at work as needed. The airline also retaliated by removing Goesling from the recruitment team, she said.
Goesling alleges American failed to properly vet Sargeant before hiring him as an independent contractor and continued to employ him even after the airline learned of prior allegations against him for alcohol abuse and inappropriate sexual conduct.
Moreover, American’s own investigation quickly confirmed that Sargeant had admitted to assaulting Goesling and that his behavior had violated American’s policies, yet she did not see their investigation “for over two years” until her lawyers received it “on the eve of” a motion-to-compel hearing, court documents allege.
In its own filings, American denies Goesling’s allegations, saying it ended its relationship with Sargeant after investigating Goesling’s claims and that after its investigation it wrote to Goesling’s lawyer saying it took her complaint seriously and advised Goesling to report any retaliation she experienced for reporting the complaint to HR, but “Goesling made no such complaints.”
American argues in court documents the “undisputed evidence” shows American employees did not encourage Sargeant to go to Goesling’s room uninvited and that no American employee provided Sargeant with Goesling’s room number.
American also showcased in court filings a text message thread between Goesling and Sargeant in which, after he apologizes for his conduct, she says she was “beyond flattered” that he fancies her and that he “took a gamble” to come see her.
Moreover, American wrote in court documents that Goesling only sued American after suing and settling with both Sargeant and the Sheraton hotel chain she stayed at.
“She sued American despite the fact that she failed to report the incident to American for nearly a month and only after going on other international food and beverage workshops, retaining a lawyer and telling various inconsistent stories about what happened in the hotel room with Sargeant to her co-workers and healthcare provider,” American says in court filings.
Miller said his firm got involved through co-counsel Brad Kizzia of Kizzia Johnson. Miller said he and law partner Emily Bryant made the decision to get involved when they first met with Goesling.
Miller said he is working on contingency and that his firm has already racked up $500,000 in expenses, which included retaining British counsel to help take Sargeant’s testimony through the Hague Convention.
“Emily and I decided we’d make that commitment in time and money because this case is important, the issue is important and it won’t change if somebody doesn’t take it to a jury,” Miller said. “This case is the right vehicle to change how victims are dealt with.
“The reason this case is so important is because … 20 percent of flight attendants are sexually assaulted,” Miller added. “It’s inconceivable that this happens in this society at this point in history.”
Given the recent enactment of federal legislation banning employers from forcing arbitration on employees who bring sexual-assault claims, Goesling’s day in court will present a rare combination of features: a very public sexual-assault case involving a major airline that also publicly identifies the victim.
Goesling originally filed the case under the pseudonym Jane Doe but later decided to use her name.
“She’s a flight attendant who other attendants and crews at American know,” Miller said. “She decided she’d sacrifice some privacy to shine light on the problem … She became convinced that nothing is going to change if she didn’t put her real name out there and say, ‘Look, this happened to me.’”
Miller declined to specify how much his client will ask the jury to award, but said she will ask for actual and punitive damages.
“Enough that American doesn’t do this again,” he said. “Enough that next time somebody says, ‘This happened to me,’ that they’ll take it seriously and they’ll address the problem instead of [attempting to] intimidate and silence a victim.”
Goesling’s trial team also includes Fort Worth attorney Andrew Piel of Harrison Steck. The Kelly Hart team representing American at trial includes Shauna Wright, Russell Cawyer and Michael Anderson.