Plaintiff suffered trauma from mall parking lot attack
The plaintiff, a 56-year-old female legal secretary, was abducted at knifepoint from the front parking lot of a shopping mall at about 1 p.m. after shopping during her lunch break.
The plaintiff's abductor drove the plaintiff in her car to an adjoining county, where the abductor raped, sexually assaulted and robbed the plaintiff by forcing her to withdraw money from an ATM machine.
The abductor then drove the plaintiff back to the shopping mall's parking lot, still during daylight hours, where the abductor threatened the plaintiff's life, jumped out of her car and escaped through a thick tree line at the back of the mall property, into a low-income housing complex situated adjacent to the mall property.
The plaintiff suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, concentration and memory problems, and she is still in ongoing counseling.
The plaintiff's counsel had previously settled a separate daylight, parking lot, inadequate security case against the same mall and developed a belief that parking lot security had not been improved since, and despite, the previous settlement with the mall.
Police department crime statistics and 911 call reports indicated that violent crime in the mall parking lot had actually increased since the previous settlement against the mall, the plaintiff alleged.
Elizabeth Kuniholm of Durham consulted with the plaintiff's counsel during the case and helped prepare the plaintiff for her deposition.
At mediation, the plaintiff's counsel presented evidence of inadequate security from the previous case and crime statistics since the previous settlement, and they presented several local law enforcement officers who spoke about the poor reputation of the mall's security within the law enforcement community.
The plaintiff's counsel also presented a mediation video that included numerous damages witnesses, which was created and produced by Deby Thompson of the Kuniholm Group.
The mediation hit an impasse, but several months later, the case settled for $1.2 million.
Type of action: Inadequate security
Injuries alleged: Rape, robbery and post-traumatic stress disorder
Case name: Stevens v. Southgate Mall
Case number: 08-CVS-249
Court: Pasquotank County Superior Court
Judge: N/A
Verdict or settlement: Settlement (mediation)
Date: July 2009
Amount: $1.2 million
Special Damages: Plaintiff was a legal secretary who was permanently disabled as a result of this incident. Her counseling bills totaled less than $7,000.
Insurers: Travelers Insurance (primary carrier); Firemen's Fund Insurance (excess carrier)
Experts: Norman Bates, security expert; Ward Zimmerman, economist; Athena Chasteen, counselor; Barbara Sawyer, psychiatrist
Plaintiff's attorneys: Danny Glover Jr. and D. Keith Teague of Teague & Glover (Elizabeth City)
October 12, 2009