American Airlines has settled a race discrimination lawsuit filed in New York federal court that alleged eight Black men were ejected from a flight after a white flight attendant complained of an unknown passenger’s body odor, attorneys for three of the men announced on Thursday.
The settlement terms are confidential, but attorneys for Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph, and Xavier Veal said it includes American Airlines’ commitment to prevent discrimination in the future.
“Corporations have a pressing responsibility to ensure that customers are not mistreated on account of race,” Michael Kirkpatrick, an attorney at Public Citizen Litigation Group, said in a statement. “We appreciate that American Airlines treated this incident with the seriousness it deserves and agreed to correct course.”
Court filings show that American Airlines and the men reached an agreement in principle in October. On Friday, they filed a stipulation to toss the case with prejudice.
Jackson, Joseph, and Veal sued American Airlines in late May, alleging that they and five other Black men were each asked to deboard a New York City-bound plane before takeoff in January, “based solely on their race.”
