- A judge has dismissed most claims in ex-flight attendant Lisa Denson’s lawsuit against United Airlines, ruling the carrier had no plausible way of knowing about her pilot boyfriend’s conduct until it was reported to law enforcement.
- Which claim survived the ruling, and why United’s potential liability is limited to conduct after April 2024.
- What United was told about pilot Andrew Hill, and what the airline did and didn’t do in response.
- The criminal case against Hill, who pleaded guilty to distributing intimate images of Denson and at least 10 other women, including other United employees.
- Why this isn’t the first time United has faced this type of allegation involving a pilot.
An ex-flight attendant at United Airlines who quit her dream job after discovering that her pilot boyfriend at the Chicago-based carrier had taken intimate photos and videos of her without her consent and then posted them online while impersonating her has been hit with a major legal blow in her bid to blame the airline for the distress she has suffered.
Lisa Denson’s horrific story was made public in July 2024 when it was revealed that Andrew Hill, 37, a United Airlines pilot, had been charged with a slew of crimes, including distribution of pornography, distribution of intimate images, harassment, stalking, and online impersonation.
Several months later, Hill pleaded guilty to numerous felonies that he had perpetrated against Denson, along with at least 10 other victims, including several of whom were also United Airlines flight attendants.
Last October, Denson filed a lawsuit against United Airlines accusing the carrier of creating a hostile work environment, unauthorized disclosure of intimate images, and negligent hiring of Hill.
Earlier this week, however, US District Judge Nina Y. Wang sided with United Airlines in its motion to dismiss most of the claims made by Denson, ruling that, as the harassment suffered by Denson happened entirely outside the workplace and was never reported internally, there was no plausible basis to infer United knew or should have known what Hill was doing.
The judge also dismissed Denson’s claim against United for vicarious liability for the unauthorized distribution of an intimate image.
The court has, however, allowed the claim for negligent hiring, training, and retention of Hill, albeit with one major caveat – United cannot be held liable for anything that occurred before April 2024, when it first learned that Hill was under police investigation.
It was at this time that law enforcement first discovered that Hill had been impersonating Denson online and had posted intimate photos of 10 different women online without their consent. As part of their investigation, law enforcement served a search warrant on United to obtain his employment records.
Judge Wang says that United was specifically told that Hill was accused of posting intimate images of Denson online. Even with this knowledge, United did not terminate or even suspend Hill, allowing him to carry on flying as if nothing had happened.
A United Airlines manager is even accused of telling law enforcement that he had spoken to Denson about the accusations and had offered her support. This was, in fact, a lie according to Judge Wang’s opinion order.
It was only after Hill was arrested in July 2024 that United terminated his employment. Later that year, Hill pleaded guilty to eight felony counts of distribution of adult pornography, one count of felony stalking, and one count of felony sexual extortion.
Denson joined United Airlines in 2015, and a year later, she met Hill while they were both working on the same flight. According to Denson’s lawsuit, Hill immediately took an interest in her, and the pair started a consensual relationship.
During their relationship, Hill would ask the flight attendant to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of her. He also allegedly secretly recorded them having sex in hotel rooms during work layovers, and covertly took photos of her semi-dressed in her uniform.
In 2017, Denson discovered Hill had been sharing some of these photos and videos on the internet without her knowledge or consent. While she wasn’t happy about this, she decided to continue the relationship after Hill promised to remove the images.
Despite being caught up in a relationship “fraught with abusive and manipulative conduct” perpetrated by Hill, Denson continued dating Hill until 2021 when she discovered he had cheated on her with multiple coworkers.
After ending the relationship, Hill’s behavior allegedly became “increasingly erratic and dangerous.” He would bombard his ex-girlfriend with calls and text messages and then started to stalk her. When Denson reported Hill’s conduct to police in Utah, they discovered he had been posting intimate, sexual images of her online.
The police investigation revealed she wasn’t the only victim. Hill had also allegedly shared images of 10 other women online, including other United Airlines employees. Despite efforts to have the images taken down, Denson believes a lot of this material is still online.
In 2019, United Airlines agreed to pay $321,000 to settle a revenge porn lawsuit brought on behalf of another flight attendant by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The long-serving flight attendant, who had worked for United Airlines since 1989, had been in a “consensual intimate relationship” with now-retired pilot and Captain Mark Uhlenbrock between about 2002 and 2006. During their relationship, the victim allowed Uhlenbrock to take photos and videos of her in “provocative poses”.
She broke off her relationship with Uhlenbrock when she discovered he had allegedly posted these photos and videos on various internet sites without her knowledge or consent.
The victim approached United Airlines for help, but rather than receiving support, the lawsuit claimed the airline failed to take appropriate preventative or corrective action against the Captain. It’s claimed no disciplinary action was taken, even when a second complaint was made by another flight attendant years after the original allegations were made.
Uhlenbrock was eventually stopped in 2015 when the FBI arrested and charged him with stalking. He pleaded guilty to stalking in June 2016, and despite being sentenced to over 3 years’ imprisonment, United Airlines allowed him to retire with full benefits in July 2016.
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