A teen who was groped by an Altadena man on an overnight flight from Los Angeles to Orlando in 2022 is suing Delta Airlines, claiming flight attendants served her alcohol despite the fact that he was already drunk when he boarded the plane and did not restrain him after the assault.
The lawsuit, which was transferred from state court to federal court last week, was filed on behalf of the then-13-year-old girl who lived in Los Angeles County, in addition to her mother and brother. It alleges that the girl, identified within the lawsuit as ZB, was sitting away from her family on the plane when Brian Patrick Durning, 53, touched her inappropriately after the cabin lights were dimmed.
After a trial in Florida, Durning was found guilty on June 23, 2023, of assaulting minors on an airplane and two counts of easy assault. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison, followed by three years of probation.
Durning can be named as a defendant within the negligence and emotional distress lawsuit against Delta and is looking for unspecified damages.
Delta officials declined to debate the lawsuit. “While Delta declines to comment on pending litigation, we have zero tolerance for unlawful conduct on flights and at airports and are cooperating with law enforcement to that end,” Delta said in a press release.
Nightmare in Heaven
On June 23, 2022, ZB, her mother and her 15-year-old brother launched into a “joyful family trip” by boarding Delta Flight 2954 at Los Angeles International Airport sure for Orlando International Airport, the lawsuit states.
However, because of reservation reasons, ZB had to take a seat two rows behind her mother and brother, who were seated on the correct side of the aisle. She was assigned a middle seat on the left side of the aisle, with Durning on one side and a female passenger on the opposite.
According to the lawsuit, Durning smelled of alcohol and admitted to being drunk before boarding. In addition, cabin crew repeatedly served him alcohol in the course of the first few hours of the flight.
After the food and beverage service was accomplished, the lights within the cabin were dimmed.
There, within the darkness, while the opposite passengers slept, Durning rubbed Z.B.'s hair and neck, touched her breasts, spread her legs and inserted his fingers over her clothing into her vagina. He also rubbed his genitals along with his hand over his pants with the zipper unzipped, the lawsuit says.
He also called ZB “sweetheart” and told her he would take her to Texas and she or he would never see her family again, the lawsuit says.
ZB, the lawsuit says, suffers from selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that renders her unable to talk in certain stressful situations. As a result, she was unable to call for help and sat in her seat, frightened and crying, as she tried to maneuver away from Durning.
When the passenger seated next to ZB woke up, she saw Durning quickly remove his hand from the girl's thigh, the lawsuit says. The passenger immediately switched seats with the girl and sought the eye of the flight attendants. She informed the “in-flight leader,” who’s answerable for the crew's onboard procedures, that Durning had touched ZB inappropriately, the lawsuit says.
Flight crew failures
The flight crew's response to the sexual assault on ZB was to have her sit in the identical seat where the assault had occurred and to maneuver her mother and brother to that row in order that they could sit next to her. Durning, meanwhile, was moved to a seat two rows away.
ZB's mother reportedly asked that Durning be moved to a different seat where she and her children couldn’t see him, however the flight crew refused.
“Delta's inadequate response emboldened and permitted Durning to continue harassing plaintiffs throughout the flight,” the lawsuit states. “Durning repeatedly turned around to stare at plaintiffs.”
The flight crew also allegedly allowed Durning to maneuver freely across the cabin, touching his genitals over his clothes and taunting the plaintiffs.
In addition, the crew selected to not restrain Durning with “Tuff Cuff” restraints – the stainless-steel handcuffs which might be freely available on airplanes – and Delta did not divert the flight, the lawsuit says.
Harassment on the airport
After landing in Orlando, Delta employees allegedly didn’t detain Durning or arrange for police to escort him off the plane before allowing passengers to disembark. After Durning exited the plane, he allegedly stood facing the gate waiting for ZB
“When he saw Plaintiff ZB walking along the jetway, Durning grabbed his groin while looking directly at her,” the lawsuit states.
Durning was eventually arrested by law enforcement officials at Orlando International Airport.
Previous alcohol problems
According to a probable cause affidavit, Durning told Anthony Helicio, chief inspector of the U.S. Marshals Service, that he had “one or two beers” before boarding the plane at LAX.
Once on board the plane, Durning took an Ambien tablet, drank a glass of white wine and fell asleep, only to be woke up by someone asking him to alter seats, the affidavit said.
A sentencing memo states that Durning was aware that Ambien was not answerable for his actions on board the plane.
“He persisted in this false defense for months, costing the government a great deal of time and expense,” the memo said. “It was only when his fabricated defense was exposed by experts that he retracted the Ambien claim. But he persisted in this fraud to cover up his crime. The nature of this offense is heinous, repugnant, and requires severe punishment.”
The memo also said Durning had been convicted of alcohol-related driving offenses but had not learned from previous sentences. About two months after Durning was released on bail for sexually abusing ZB, he allegedly got right into a drunken argument along with his girlfriend at Amigo's restaurant in Pasadena.
A psychological evaluation shows that Durning continues to be in “horrific denial” of his alcohol abuse and has “stumbled professionally and personally” throughout his life, court documents show.
In the months following the ordeal, the lawsuit says, ZB developed a fear of flying, refused to wear swimsuits or shorts, stopped hugging her members of the family, and cut her thigh with scissors.
“What was supposed to be a fun family outing turned into a life-changing, traumatic experience for a young teenager and every parent's worst nightmare,” the lawsuit states. “With this lawsuit, we seek to hold Delta and Durning accountable for their reprehensible conduct.”
Originally published:
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