Woman files $2M negligence suit against Delta after man allegedly groped her and 16-year-old daughter

Delta Air Lines is facing a $2 million lawsuit from a woman who claims flight attendants failed to intervene after she and her teenage daughter were sexually harassed and accosted by a drunken passenger.

The suit was filed on July 25, a year after the incident, in the Eastern District of New York, according to a Fox Business report. “The intoxicated Delta passenger appeared to be getting drunker and drunker as the Delta flight attendants continued serving him alcohol,” claimed the woman in the court filing. She alleged that the belligerent man consumed at least 11 drinks, including 10 vodka beverages and a glass of wine.

She and her 16-year-old daughter were seated next to the individual on a nine-hour flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Athens, Greece. The unidentified man is accused of trying to talk to the uninterested teen. The documents state that he became more aggressive and began to make crude comments and “obscene gestures” as he consumed more alcohol. Accusations of his advances toward the girl include physical claims, such as him allegedly touching the teen’s back and sliding his hand under the adolescent’s shirt in an attempt to unclasp her bra.

The mother attempted to intervene but was reportedly met with a verbal lashing from the unruly passenger. She claimed that multiple pleas were made for a seat change or at least for flight attendants to step in. Instead, she was reportedly told to “be patient” and that the flight was full before the man was finally told to stop talking to her and the teen. However, his alleged obscene behavior continued as he furthered his attempts to grope the woman and her daughter. Another male passenger eventually offered his seat to the terrified high school student.

Upon arrival, Delta agents offered the woman 5,000 airline miles as consolation for the inconvenience. Local and US authorities were reportedly never alerted to the man’s behavior. The airline issued a statement to Fox Business that stated they have “zero tolerance for customers who engage in inappropriate or unlawful behavior” and that “nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people.”