A homeless man and woman asked Jennifer Hall and her fiancé for a cigarette as she left a Jewel Food Store on Aug. 25, 2008. When she denied them the requested smokes, the pair allegedly attacked them (Chicago Bar-Tender).
She lost "most of her teeth" and doctors mended her fractured skull with 85 staples (Tribune).
Now she's suing the grocery store because "homeless persons and others were known to loiter outside the [store], commonly congregating on the wall along the sidewalk," according to the complaint. And then, she alleges, Jewel should have known the homeless pair had a "violent propensity."
She's also suing the two individuals who she says attacked her, although it's highly unlikely that she'll be able to collect anything from homeless people. The Jewel Food Store, of course, has the deeper pockets and most likely insurance.
Her complaint claims one count of negligence against Jewel for allegedly allowing a dangerous situation to exist in the first place and one claim of battery against the two alleged attackers, Derrick King and Joyce Burgess. As with most Illinois injury suits, she is seeking damages in excess of $50,000.
Battery is one of a handful of so called "intentional torts" that also is a criminal violation. In other words, the defendants may have also been charged with assault and battery by a prosecutor. In this case, King pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison but was paroled 18 days into his term for also pleading guilty to robbery for the attack.
- Elements of a Negligence Case (FindLaw)
- Elements of a Battery (FindLaw)
- Chicago Injury Lawyers (FindLaw)
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