Friday, October 5, 2007
McDonald's attorney says company not responsible for strip search
McDonald's attorney says company not responsible for strip search
By BRETT BARROUQUERE
Associated Press Writer
SHEPHERDSVILLE, Ky. --
McDonald's Corp. is not responsible for the strip search and sexual abuse of a former employee who is seeking more than $200 million in a lawsuit, the attorney for the restaurant chain said Wednesday.W. R. Patterson, the attorney for the company, told a jury that the restaurant chain was sued because it has deep pockets. Patterson said that Louise Ogborn, the former employee who was searched, did not sue the man who sexually assaulted her or the person who directed the strip search over the phone.
"I think the reason is obvious, McDonald's has money and they want you to give it to them," Patterson said. "That's why they're shooting at McDonald's."
Patterson's comments came in closing arguments in Ogborn's civil lawsuit against McDonald's, a former assistant manager and a current assistant manager.
In her suit, Ogborn claimed the company failed to warn her and other employees about a hoax caller posing as a police officer who had already struck other McDonald's stores and other fast-food restaurants across the country. Ogborn was strip searched on April 9, 2004, in a back office at the McDonald
The Associated Press: Ky. Jury Deciding McDonald's Case
Ogborn was 18 and working at a McDonald's in April 2004 when she was forced to strip after a man called the store, claiming he was investigating a theft. At one point during the 3 1/2-hour search, the assistant manager's boyfriend was left to handle the phone call.
Donna Jean Summers, the assistant manager, was convicted of unlawful imprisonment. Her former fiancee, Walter Nix Jr., is serving a 5-year sentence for sexual abuse and other crimes.
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