Mega retailer Walmart was victorious last month at a hearing related to a contentious “slip and fall” case that originated in Georgetown County, South Carolina … one in which the Arkansas-based giant was accused by a promising lawyer pleading for engage in “discovery pranks” and other abuses of the legal process.

Circuit Court Judge SC Bentley Price did not see it that way, however … and denied a request for sanctions filed against the company on behalf of a 64-year-old man Evelyn Mccray from Georgetown, SC

Mccray fell into a Walmart parking lot in Georgetown in August 2018, slipping on some “gravel or rock-like products,” according to a lawsuit filed on his behalf by Charleston, SC attorney. Victoria Smith.

(Click to view)

(Via: Provided)

During the discovery phase of the case, Smith (above) accused Walmart of improperly editing documents that “directly related” to Mccray’s claims – documents that the company labeled “irrelevant” and “unresponsive” to its discovery requests, according to a sanctions motion (. pdf) presented in October 2020.

The problem? These documents – several of which ended up being delivered by the company – ended up being extremely relevant and appropriate to the claims made in the Mccray case. In fact, the documents contained information related to specific “rock-like” products sold at Georgetown Walmart “at the time relevant to this dispute”.

If that’s not relevant, we don’t know what it is …

We filed an extensive report on this case last month, reporting to what extent Walmart was accused of – and sanctioned by – abuse the discovery process in similar cases across the country.

Frankly, we were surprised to see Price’s rule in favor of the company … as we believe Smith made a compelling case for sanctions.

Smith was not intimidated by the decision against her, however, telling us that she intends to appeal Price’s order. Your motivation? Justice for her client … but also justice for those she believes continue to be victims of Walmart’s alleged abuse of the legal system.

“The demographics of the average Walmart employee or customer are those of the working class,” said Smith in a statement provided to this medium. “These are the parts that tend to suffer the most from prolonged litigation.”

“Individuals with claims against Walmart usually don’t have a lot of money and are not normally asking for a lot of money,” continued Smith. “Walmart has a great financial incentive to make litigation and investigation of legitimate claims so costly and time-consuming that many plaintiffs’ lawyers can be deterred from offering representation in the absence of catastrophic damage. Unfortunately, it is more beneficial in the long run for Walmart to detain and prolong the litigation than for Walmart to be reasonably accessible in the discovery phase of a lawsuit over meritorious claims. “

Yes … we call it “incendiary”, don’t we?

It looks like there’s still a lot of heat coming out of this case …

“We are disappointed in the court’s decision,” concluded Smith, referring to herself and her client. “We are concerned that this will only encourage deferral and secrecy tactics in the discovery in the future.”

We share these concerns …

This means of communication has consistently sought to incorporate the perspective of Walmart in our reports. In fact, we have devoted a significant part of our early history in this case to the company’s response.

Walmart employees were not immediately available to respond to our request for comments on Price’s decision, but we will continue to contact them in the hope of bringing our readers their perspective.

And, of course, our open mic policy extends to Walmart just as it extends to any individual or entity that wants to respond to our coverage … or proactively raise an issue that it believes would interest our readers.

Which reminds us, we are also looking forward to hearing from the company about a “Made in the USA” scandal… errr, “Assembled in the USA”… involving one of its suppliers operating a factory in Winnsboro, SC

As noted in our original report, Walmart has a large presence in South Carolina – employing an estimate 31,613 “Associates” and supporting another 24,281 jobs in its aforementioned supply chain. The company paid $ 116.5 million in taxes to the state last year, and donated $ 18 million for South Carolina-based charities.

-FITSNews

*****

WANT TO TURN OFF THE SOUND?

Is there anything you would like to say in response to one of our stories? We have an open mic policy! Send your own letter to the editor (or guest column) by email HERE. Do you have a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Have a technical question or failure to report? CLICK HERE.

Flag: Getty

Mega retailer Walmart was victorious last month at a hearing related to a contentious “slip and fall” case that originated in Georgetown County, South Carolina … one in which the Arkansas-based giant was accused by a promising lawyer pleading for engage in “discovery pranks” and other abuses of the legal process.

Circuit Court Judge SC Bentley Price did not see it that way, however … and denied a request for sanctions filed against the company on behalf of a 64-year-old man Evelyn Mccray from Georgetown, SC

Mccray fell into a Walmart parking lot in Georgetown in August 2018, slipping on some “gravel or rock-like products,” according to a lawsuit filed on his behalf by Charleston, SC attorney. Victoria Smith.

(Click to view)

(Via: Provided)

During the discovery phase of the case, Smith (above) accused Walmart of improperly editing documents that “directly related” to Mccray’s claims – documents that the company labeled “irrelevant” and “unresponsive” to its discovery requests, according to a sanctions motion (. pdf) presented in October 2020.

The problem? These documents – several of which ended up being delivered by the company – ended up being extremely relevant and appropriate to the claims made in the Mccray case. In fact, the documents contained information related to specific “rock-like” products sold at Georgetown Walmart “at the time relevant to this dispute”.

If that’s not relevant, we don’t know what it is …

We filed an extensive report on this case last month, reporting to what extent Walmart was accused of – and sanctioned by – abuse the discovery process in similar cases across the country.

Frankly, we were surprised to see Price’s rule in favor of the company … as we believe Smith made a compelling case for sanctions.

Smith was not intimidated by the decision against her, however, telling us that she intends to appeal Price’s order. Your motivation? Justice for her client … but also justice for those she believes continue to be victims of Walmart’s alleged abuse of the legal system.

“The demographics of the average Walmart employee or customer are those of the working class,” said Smith in a statement provided to this medium. “These are the parts that tend to suffer the most from prolonged litigation.”

“Individuals with claims against Walmart usually don’t have a lot of money and are not normally asking for a lot of money,” continued Smith. “Walmart has a great financial incentive to make litigation and investigation of legitimate claims so costly and time-consuming that many plaintiffs’ lawyers can be deterred from offering representation in the absence of catastrophic damage. Unfortunately, it is more beneficial in the long run for Walmart to detain and prolong the litigation than for Walmart to be reasonably accessible in the discovery phase of a lawsuit over meritorious claims. “

Yes … we call it “incendiary”, don’t we?

It looks like there’s still a lot of heat coming out of this case …

“We are disappointed in the court’s decision,” concluded Smith, referring to herself and her client. “We are concerned that this will only encourage deferral and secrecy tactics in the future.”

We share these concerns …

This means of communication has consistently sought to incorporate the perspective of Walmart in our reports. In fact, we have devoted a significant part of our early history in this case to the company’s response.

Walmart employees were not immediately available to respond to our request for comments on Price’s decision, but we will continue to contact them in the hope of bringing our readers their perspective.

And, of course, our open mic policy extends to Walmart just as it extends to any individual or entity that wants to respond to our coverage … or proactively raise an issue that it believes would interest our readers.

Which reminds us, we are also looking forward to hearing from the company about a “Made in the USA” scandal… errr, “Assembled in the USA”… involving one of its suppliers operating a factory in Winnsboro, SC

As noted in our original report, Walmart has a large presence in South Carolina – employing an estimate 31,613 “Associates” and supporting another 24,281 jobs in its aforementioned supply chain. The company paid $ 116.5 million in taxes to the state last year, and donated $ 18 million for South Carolina-based charities.

-FITSNews

*****

WANT TO TURN OFF THE SOUND?

Is there anything you would like to say in response to one of our stories? We have an open mic policy! Send your own letter to the editor (or guest column) by email HERE. Do you have a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Have a technical question or failure to report? CLICK HERE.

Flag: Getty