United Airlines employee sues, claims he was wrongfully accused in crash

A United Airlines employee is suing over claims he was wrongly accused of performing repair work on an aircraft that crashed.

John Taylor filed a lawsuit Nov. 27 in the Circuit Court of Cook County against United Airlines Inc., formerly known as Continental Airlines Inc., United Continental Holdings Inc. and Air France-KLM SA, formerly known as Air France, citing breach of fiduciary duty, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and malicious prosecution.

According to the suit, Taylor has been employed by United for more than 24 years. The complaint states that on July 25, 2000, an Air France flight crashed shortly after take off in Paris, killing 113 people.

Taylor alleges he was wrongfully accused of performing aircraft repair work that led to a piece falling off the airplane, which caused the crash. Despite there being no evidence showing that he performed the work, the suit states Taylor he was indicted on 113 counts of manslaughter by the French Republic.

Taylor claims he was informed by an United attorney to not appear at trial and was convicted in absentia for all 113 counts of manslaughter. He was ultimately exonerated of all charges, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, the defendants breached its fiduciary duties owed to Taylor by failing to provide him with competent, zealous and honest defense. Further, Taylor contends the defendants acted negligently in the investigation of the crash and during his representation.

Taylor is seeking damages in excess of $50,000. He is being represented by Chicago attorney Gary D. McCallister.

Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2013L013624.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.