Delta faces lawsuit after 12yo 'attacked and humiliated'

  • 04/05/2017

An airport staffer may regret slapping a 12-year-old boy's mobile phone out of his hand, after his family said they'll be going to court to get compensation.

Matthew Boggan took his phone out at La Guardia airport in New York after the family's plane was delayed, and the agent trying to explain why.

The flight from New York to Florida on July 1 last year was delayed 17 hours due to severe weather.

In the footage, the agent can be heard telling the boy to "put the phone down" before she's seen knocking it out of his hand and telling him "don't be a dick".

The parents can then be heard protesting, saying, "Don't grab his stuff! Why are you grabbing his stuff? It's not illegal."

Delta Airlines refused to offer the family a settlement, so the parents are pursuing a resolution through the courts. They are suing the airline for unspecified damages.

Lawyers for the Boggan family say the agent's actions were "indicative of the complete disregard" Delta has for its passengers, saying the woman "attacked and humiliated" Matthew.

"As if he was to blame for the mess they created - and now they say he deserved it," attorney Terrence James Cortelli told The Daily Mail. "Their actions are outrageous and we look forward to presenting our case to a jury."

The controversy comes as video emerged last week of a Delta Airlines pilot slapping a passenger.

Newshub.