Walmart said she shoplifted; jury awards her $2.1 million

[Nevilledog]

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The North Pole is a fusion center
@hypervisible
Woman uses self checkout, is accused of shoplifting and arrested. Case is eventually dismissed, but Walmart demands $200 settlement fee from her. (More than cost of groceries)

Walmart makes “hundreds of millions” in 2 years by doing this to people.

Walmart said she shoplifted; jury awards her $2.1 million
She said she used self-checkout but the scanning device froze. Workers didn’t accept that and she was arrested for shoplifting. Her case was dismissed, but then she received demands for a settlement.
detroitnews.com
5:59 AM · Nov 30, 2021

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2021/11/30/walmart-said-she-shoplifted-jury-awards-her-2-1-million/8804977002/

Mobile, Ala. — An Alabama woman who says she was falsely arrested for shoplifting at a Walmart and then threatened by the company after her case was dismissed has been awarded $2.1 million in damages.

A Mobile County jury on Monday ruled in favor of Lesleigh Nurse of Semmes, news outlets reported.

Nurse said in a lawsuit that she was stopped in November 2016 when trying to leave a Walmart with groceries she said she already paid for, according to AL.com. She said she used self-checkout but the scanning device froze. Workers didn’t accept her explanation and she was arrested for shoplifting.

Her case was dismissed a year later, but then she received letters from a Florida law firm threatening a civil suit if she didn’t pay $200 as a settlement, according to her lawsuit. That was more than the cost of the groceries she was accused of stealing.

*snip*

[PTWB]

1. Too bad the article is scant on details.

It says her explanation was that the 'scanning device froze' which begs the question: did she continue to scan and then pay for the remainder of the items? Did she have to change registers? Did she keep using the frozen scanner, assuming that it was scanning the remaining items, and never noticed that her total was too low and that the items weren’t scanner? That question is, for whatever reason, unanswered.

If I was shopping and the scanning device froze I wouldn't just walk out with the un-scanned merchandise.

[Lisa0825]

3. I wondered the same. nt

[inthewind21]

8. Bottom line

She, was arrested. A judge dismissed the case. Walmart decided to ignore said judge and go after her. Walmart lost. End of story.

[PTWB]

14. What's that got to do with anything?

Civil cases aren’t dependent upon criminal cases. Clearly the jury sided with the woman in this case, but your post didn’t make a relevant point.

[Patterson]

15. That's not what "begs the question" means.

[PTWB]

17. You must have gone to school with Aristotle himself!

You'll be shocked to learn that language evolves over time.

In modern times, "begging the question" is accepted to be synonymous with "a question that begs to be answered" or "raising the question."

Here's what Merriam-Webster has to say about it:

Begging the question means "to elicit a specific question as a reaction or response," and can often be replaced with "a question that begs to be answered." However, a lesser used and more formal definition is "to ignore a question under the assumption it has already been answered." The phrase itself comes from a translation of an Aristotelian phrase rendered as "beg the question" but meaning "assume the conclusion."

Merriam-Webster

And here's what Wikipedia has to say about it:

In classical rhetoric and logic, begging the question or assuming the conclusion (Latin: petitio principii) is an informal fallacy that occurs when an argument's premises assume the truth of the conclusion, instead of supporting it.

For example, the statement "Green is the best color because it is the greenest of all colors" claims that the color green is the best because it is the greenest—which it presupposes is the best.

It is a type of circular reasoning: an argument that requires that the desired conclusion be true. This often occurs in an indirect way such that the fallacy's presence is hidden, or at least not easily apparent.

In modern vernacular usage, however, begging the question is often used to mean "raising the question" or "suggesting the question". Sometimes it is confused with "dodging the question", an attempt to avoid it.

The phrase begging the question originated in the 16th century as a mistranslation of the Latin petitio principii, which in turn was a mistranslation of the Greek for "assuming the conclusion".

Wikipedia

[Patterson]

18. Thanks for all the information.

[House of Roberts]

2. Watch now as the corporate kissass Alabama Supreme court

makes the damages amount evaporate.

[Calculating]

7. They should mostly evaporate

Two million is a huge amount for this, why does she deserve more than I'm likely to make in a lifetime over this?

[inthewind21]

9. Because

a jury decided to award it. Because it's more than you are likely to make in a lifetime is irrelevant. Why do cities pay more in settlements to people that is more than the recipient is likely to make in 2 lifetimes? Would you still be questioning/complaining about it if the damages were awarded to you?

[Calculating]

12. Nobody died or was seriously injured

This amount is like a wrongful death lawsuit and juries are often filled with idiots. That's why it's up to the judges to bring these settlements down to a sane amount. She simply doesn't deserve two mil for this, and it's not fair to the other shoppers who will pay higher prices or Walmart shareholders.

[Torchlight]

19. Punitive damages are usually a punishment against the offender

as well as a warning of sorts to others to avoid the same behavior.

They are awarded at the court's discretion when the defendant's behavior is found to be especially harmful. It's not really about earning or deserving the compensation, but instead a warning to others who consider making the same offense.

[icnorth]

4. Some observations, if I understand this correctly

(1) She was accused of shoplifting.

(2) Her case was dismissed by the court.

(3) Despite dismissal, the Company threatened her with a civil suit.

(4) The woman claimed the self check out froze.

(5) Walmart dismissed her claim without verifying and proceeded to have her charged.

(6) Due diligence was not practiced and the $200.00 "loss" is a little bit more than expected.

[Sneederbunk]

5. Everyone knows if the device freezes, the groceries are free.

[ColinC]

11. Question is: did it freeze before or after she paid?

Where the only thing that didn't happen was give her a printed receipt?

[Torchlight]

20. Much as everyone knows if you don't get a receipt, you were never charged.

[captain queeg]

6. I mostly hate those things

I do appreciate being able to get out quickly. Where I’ve seen them they supposedly have a person there for when things go wrong, which is common. It’s usually at the grocery store. If things get messed up I wait for assistance. It usually doesn’t take long though sometimes it does. I don’t think I’d grab my stuff and go if no one was there to help. I think I’d be more likely to get pissed off and leave my stuff there and leave the store. But as stated, the article is short on details.

[TexasBushwhacker]

10. I try not to use them

Unless I have just a few items and the line is long at the cashier, I prefer a human to do the scanning. I do place grocery orders for pick up and occasionally delivery though. I do less impulse buying that way

[Demovictory9]

13. I use the cashier although they try bait and switch

They come.get you out of line as if opening new line.but instead walk you to self check out

[boston bean]

16. She may not have realized it did not count all her items, until

They checked her bags to the receipt.

Maybe that is why Walmart lost.

Gosh people are so judgmental sometimes.

[MissMillie]

23. They could always go back to having cashiers if shoplifing is worrisome

It's my understanding that while there is some shoplifting involved w/ self-checkout, Wal-Mart says it's not rampant enough to justify the cost of hiring more cashiers.

I would NEVER leave the check-out area w/o a receipt. May need to return something.