Judge Drops Charges In Airport Applesauce Fight

BURBANK (CBS) — A judge on Monday dismissed charges against a woman who was accused of misdemeanor battery for a scuffle with a TSA officer at Bob Hope Airport while trying to take applesauce and other snacks for her elderly mother through security.

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Burbank Superior Court Judge Patrick Hegarty dismissed the case against Nadine Kay Hays at the request of the Burbank City Attorney's Office, according to Hays' attorney, Mary Frances Prevost.

Another judge had indicated in April that the case would be thrown out if Hays stayed out of trouble for six months.

Hays told reporters she got involved in a tug-of-war over the cooler, which she was using to carry food for her 93-year-old mother as they headed to Nashville for a family wedding in April 2009.

Hays' lawyer said she had "never seen a more malicious prosecution."

She noted that her client -- who she called "a very conservative religious Mormon woman" -- is still facing a $2,500 fine from the Transportation Security Administration, which Hays intends to fight.

Prevost said she has filed a claim against the Department of Homeland Security on her client's behalf.

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