Typical money-grab in our screwed-up legal system. Taking the linked story at face value, the woman didn't take any action until after the second or third incident, and she was moved before anything else happened. (The FA might have been wrong to tell her to go back and talk to the guy, but that was immediately mooted by the purser's actions.)
Unless there were corroborating witnesses, this is a classic he said, she said. Had United taken action against the male, they'd be getting sued by him.