There may be more to this story than the social outrage suggests, but then again, I've seen some incredibly boneheaded moves by lawyers in my time

American Airlines Blames 9-Year-Old After Its Flight Attendant was Busted Recording Girls in Plane Bathroom

The little vixon led him on, damnit!

Estes Carter Thompson is accused of recording multiple girls by taping his phone to plane toilet seats. In a new court filing, American Airlines says the young girl should have known that there was a recording device on the toilet.

"Defendant would show that any injuries or illnesses alleged to have been sustained by Plaintiff, Mary Doe, were proximately caused by Plaintiff’s own fault and negligence," AA said.

"She knew or should have known contained a visible and illuminated recording device."

Thompson is accused of having videos of girls aged 7, 9, 11 and 14.Absolutely insane.

The plaintiff is a nine-year-old girl. (!!!)

This is the kind of defense pleading you might expect from a first year associate who remembers the principle of contributory negligence but has no grip on reality. If American Airlines insists on retaining lawyers with sub-60 IQs, it deserves what it’s about to get, but … gee.

In defense of first-year associates, however, I’ve seen counterclaims and special defenses asserted by veteran lawyers, counter-claims that are so dumb, so guaranteed to turn a jury against their client, that you’re left wondering who had what at lunch that day, and how much.

UPDATE: American now says that the filing was made by the outside law firm hired by its insurance company, and “has directed that pleading be withdrawn”. That bird has flown, dummies.