US Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects Sexual Assault Case of Delta Flight Attendant

A divided federal appeals court has dismissed an attempt by a former Delta Air flight attendant to hold the airline accountable after that a co-pilot drugged and sexually assaulted her in a hotel during a layover in Dallas in she alleged 2018.

In a 2-1 ruling, the Boston-based 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals decided in favour of Delta, prompting one judge to issue a sharply worded dissent, accusing the majority of being "completely wrong" and engaging in "victim-shaming" in its ruling against the woman.

Eric LeBlanc, the plaintiff's lawyer, stated that she was considering her options.
The flight attendant was appealing the dismissal of a 2020 lawsuit she filed against Delta, alleging that a co-worker raped her and that the airline had failed to properly investigate her claims and provide her with a safe workplace free from sexual harassment.

The plaintiff claimed that she had no recollection of the co-pilot being in her room and only suspected she was assaulted after noticing bruises forming on her body.

She sought medical attention in Massachusetts, completed a sexual assault kit and reported her belief that she had been assaulted on August 5 to her supervisor. 

She later filed a police report, which led to an investigation by Dallas police; however, they found insufficient evidence of an offence.

The lawsuit alleged that Delta's investigation was inadequate and that the airline violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Massachusetts state law by failing to conduct a good-faith investigation into her sexual harassment claims.

However, US Circuit Judge Sandra Lynch, writing for the majority, stated that Delta had responded with a prompt investigation and that its conclusion, deeming the co-pilot’s account credible, was not unreasonable.

She noted that the co-pilot's account of the events that night had been inconsistent in several ways and that the majority ignored evidence from the woman's hospital examination, which suggested she may have been strangled that evening.

"Hers is a story of an inadequate investigation that a reasonable jury could find credible," Thompson wrote. "She should have the opportunity to present her case at trial, and the jury can then reach its verdict."

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