• Subscribe
  • Log In
  • Sign up for email updates
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Texas Lawbook

Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury

  • Appellate
  • Bankruptcy
  • Commercial Litigation
  • Corp. Deal Tracker/M&A
  • GCs/Corp. Legal Depts.
  • Firm Management
  • White-Collar/Regulatory
  • Pro Bono/Public Service/D&I

Fort Worth Jury Clears American Airlines in Flight Attendant’s Sexual-Assault Claim

May 11, 2022 Bruce Tomaso

A Fort Worth jury on Wednesday exonerated American Airlines of responsibility for a British celebrity chef’s sexual assault against a flight attendant in 2018.

Jurors decided after a two-week civil trial that Mark Sargeant, a London chef working with American Airlines to develop in-flight menus, assaulted Kimberly Goesling in her hotel room during a business trip to Germany. But the jury rejected Goesling’s contention that her employer encouraged Sargeant’s physical advances.

Goesling’s attorney, J. Robert Miller Jr. of Miller Bryant in Dallas, said he will appeal the verdict. Goesling had sought nearly $26 million in damages against the airline.

The lead attorney for American Airlines, Shauna J. Wright, a partner in the Fort Worth firm of Kelly Hart & Hallman, did not return a telephone call seeking comment on the verdict.

According to court documents, Goesling, a veteran flight attendant active in American’s recruitment and training programs, was on a flight to Germany in January 2018 as part of a team developing a deluxe menu for the airline’s international passengers flying first class or in business class. Sargeant, who has worked closely for years with star chef Gordon Ramsey, was in charge of the culinary initiative.

Goesling claimed Sargeant sexually assaulted her after barging into her hotel room at 3:30 a.m. on the last night of the trip.

Among the grounds for appeal, Miller said, is the exclusion by Tarrant County District Judge Kimberly Fitzpatrick of evidence that Sargeant had a history of sexual harassment of female associates, a history, Miller contends, with which American Airlines was amply familiar.

“American Airlines should have terminated Mark Sergeant long before he ever met Kimberly Goesling,” Miller said. “This flight never should have occurred.”

In her suit, Goesling claimed Sargeant pursued her after American executives encouraged him to do so. In a video deposition, Sargeant said he was encouraged by an American Airlines manager, Brett Hooyerink, who drank with Sargeant and told him that Goesling was interested in him.

The Fort Worth jury found that American Airlines, through Hooyerink, did not “assist and participate with Mark Sargeant in committing the sexual assault.”

Sargeant was never criminally charged. Miller said his client attempted to file criminal charges in Germany but was unable to do so “due to a language barrier.” She then turned to authorities in Fort Worth, he said, who refused to pursue an investigation of activities in a foreign country.

©2025 The Texas Lawbook.

Content of The Texas Lawbook is controlled and protected by specific licensing agreements with our subscribers and under federal copyright laws. Any distribution of this content without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.

If you see any inaccuracy in any article in The Texas Lawbook, please contact us. Our goal is content that is 100% true and accurate. Thank you.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Stories

  • ‘Whatever It Takes’: San Antonio Lawyer Joins Frontline Flood Recovery in His Hometown
  • Texas-sized Ambition: Huntington Banks on Middle Market with $1.9B Purchase of Prized Veritex
  • CDT Roundup: AI Gets Amped in Somewhat Quiet Week for Deals
  • Zavitsanos Twins Set Their Sights on Filmmaking, Law
  • Genesis Healthcare Files Chapter 11 in NDTX

Footer

Who We Are

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Submit a News Tip

Stay Connected

  • Sign up for email updates
  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Premium Subscriber Editorial Calendar

Our Partners

  • The Dallas Morning News
The Texas Lawbook logo

1409 Botham Jean Blvd.
Unit 811
Dallas, TX 75215

214.232.6783

© Copyright 2025 The Texas Lawbook
The content on this website is protected under federal Copyright laws. Any use without the consent of The Texas Lawbook is prohibited.