As a pilot, I've seen the occasional tray table placarded INOP like this. I can see how this would be a safety issue if the duct tape were to break in flight, but i don't think a relatively short hop from MSP-JFK would be delayed for this. More of an inconvenience to the pax than anything. Glad he was able to move.

I recall an overhead bin latch breaking on an ATL-NRT flight some months back. We were delayed about 20 minutes for MX to remove the items in the bin and secure it with duct tape for the 14 hour hop across the Pacific.

As far as the seats being upright and locked, there was a time where just about any seat I sat on in a CRJ200 or a 737 wouldn't lock in place and would recline under the slightest pressure. The response from the FA was always something along the lines of "not another one."