The appellants of the case are Tynesha M. Rivers, Nikina D. Cunningham, and Stacy L. Rivers representing herself and as the parent/custodian of minor Tevon J. Elmore. The appellees in the case are James Donohoe, Linda Love, and a Florida Corporation, Dillards Department Store, Inc.
Case Background
A New York Criminal Lawyer said that on the 20th of August in 1994, Tynesha Rivers, Nikina Cunningham, Stacy Rivers and her son Tevon all went to Dillards Department store to shop. Stacy and her son went to the upstairs part of the store and Tynesha and Nikina went to shop for shoes in the shoe department. The girls were waiting for a salesperson to bring them a pair of shoes to try on when they were approached by officer Donohoe, a security guard for the store. Officer Donohoe asked them for their identification, but did not tell them why he wanted it. The two girls gave him their identification and he took it and walked away. Tynesha continued shopping and paid for a pair of shoes.
When Donohoe returned he took the two girls to another area of the store. He placed his arm on Cunningham at one point and both girls said they felt like they had to go with him because of the authority he was showing. Stacy and her son arrived in the area as well and Donohoe took her identification as well. He offered no explanation as to why. He placed all four of them in an area and told them to sit and wait. While waiting they noticed a bulletin board that was labeled the “wall of shame.” After waiting for a while, Love entered the room and proceeded to take Rivers picture without her consent. The women were told that they were not welcome in the department store and if they returned they would be arrested for trespassing. Stacy asked to return the shoes that she had just bought, but was not allowed to do so. They were all evicted from the premises.
Appellants Case
According to testimony provided by all of the women none of them had any prior convictions for shoplifting and never been suspected of committing any type of criminal offense. Stacy Rivers stated that she had never had any problems in the store. Cunningham stated that Donohoe asked them to go with him, but never told them that they were being accused of shoplifting. A New York Criminal Lawyer said the women sued the store on the basis of intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment, battery, libel, and an invasion of privacy.
Appellees Case
A salesgirl is the person who first called attention to the women. She stated that she had seen them in the store before and they showed the signs of shoplifters. A New York Drug Possession Lawyer said that they would immediately separate when they entered the store and then take clothes into parts of the store where they would not be seen. She called Donohoe and asked him to ask the women to leave. He said that it would have to be a manager to do this.
Previous Ruling and Court Decision
In the previous case, the civil court granted a summary judgment in favor of the appellees on all counts and charges. However, upon further review of the case we feel that there needs to be more consistent accounts of what happened on the day in question. Therefore we reverse the previous order and rule in favor of the appellants.
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