Our Court of Appeals upheld a punitive damages award against a business for putting self-protection from litigation ahead of customer safety as a matter of policy. In so holding, the Court wrote: “This evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to Ms.Everhart, shows that, although Mr. Witherspoon knew Ms. Everharthad ingested some unknown substance that had made her sick, he refused to find out what she had actually been served or the first aid protocol for that substance before completing O’Charley’s’incident report form. Moreover, that form is not designed to provide assistance to the customer, but is focused on “anticipat[ing] . . . litigation.” A jury could reasonably find from this evidence that Mr. Witherspoon chose to give preference to protecting O’Charley’s from possible litigation over providing assistance to Ms. Everhart who had been served a possibly toxic substance.” To read the full opinion, click on the link below:
Everhart v. O’Charley’s 10.6.09 ncapp