McDonald’s Ordered To Pay $27 Million For Teens’ Deaths

cbs ^ | 7-30-2014

[Citizen Zed]

College students Denton Ward, 18, from Flower Mound, and Lauren Crisp, 19, of Dripping Springs, were killed shortly after stopping at a College Station McDonald’s in the early morning hours of February 18, 2012.

Ward and another male friend were attacked in the McDonald’s parking lot by a mob of 15 to 20 people.

When Ward’s friends, including Crisp, loaded into a car to rush him to the hospital, the driver ran a red light and they were involved in a crash with a pickup truck.  Crisp was killed in the crash.

The teens’ families sued McDonald’s, claiming that the restaurant neglected to provide late-night security even though police had been called more than 20 times that year to break up fights at that location.

[The Sons of Liberty]

Since when is McDonald's or any other fast food venue required to be in the security business?

Exactly! Why aren't the cops the one's paying? After all, the argument of the gun-grabbers is that the cops provide security.

[ExTxMarine]

However, the issue the jury had to decide was whether Ventura was defamed and suffered financial loss because of the story as published in Chris Kyle's book. He did.

Please tell me on what page is Ventura's name listed. It is NOT listed there, period.

More importantly, people are claiming that Kyle said this to "sell more of his books." Well, the book was a top seller already when Kyle was asked if that part of the book referenced Ventura, which Kyle answered, "Yes."

And tell me exactly how Ventura suffered financial loss. Because that is a crock of crap. No one would care one way or the other if one loud mouth drunk (Ventura) was decked by another loud mouth drunk (Kyle). This case was BS from the beginning because Ventura's name is not listed ANYWHERE in that book!

[rightwingintelligentsia]

I found one story that said Marcus Jones got 90 days for assaulting Denton’s friend but that was the only arrest.

[MrB]

Oh, it's not so bad when you realize what it is:

[hoosierham]

The police don’t want security guards to have any real authority because then the cops couldn’t get overtime pay working security details.

Private security guards have the same power of citizen’s arrest as any other person. The problems are that there is little or no training in when to arrest;in fact, most are strongly discouraged from performing a citizen’s arrest of even a violent person .Nor will their employer defend the guard in court.As a private person if you arrest someone clearly committing a crime you can still be sued in civil court and face tremendous legal expenses proving you were right. On top of which you probably were dismissed from your job.I know of store clerks fired for grabbing shoplifters who were trying to leave with high-dollar items.

The lawyers of the last 50 years care absolutely nothing about justice.I say all of them are guilty because the good lawyers refuse to ostracize the scumbags.The judges who preside over so many farcial decisions are guilty as well.

[BitWielder1]

Yes, call the police, isn't that what they always tell us?
EVEN IF McDonald's was to provide a security guard, what authority would he have to intervene outside the building anyway? Besides calling the cops.
I hope McDonald's appeals this.
Enough of suing bystanders for something they had no power to control.

[Responsibility2nd]

No.

McDonalds had a duty to provide security. Cops were called 20 previous times?

Not saying McDonalds is liable for $27 million, but yeah. They bear some responsibility.

[YourAdHere]

Bush’s fault.

[The Sons of Liberty]

If the guy was carrying concealed, and Texas is a state where he could have been, ....

[TurboZamboni]

Obviously the paving company should be sued. Their pavement is like a magnet to thugs...probably something in the mix.

[Rhinoman]

If the victims would have been armed and fought back, I suspect that McDonalds would still be getting sued by the “crowd of 15-20 people.” It’s the litigation lottery.

[The Sons of Liberty]

McDonalds had a duty to provide security.

If the Ronald McDonald Security Cop had shot the thugs (who incidentally would've looked like some of Hussein's sons) how big would the settlement have been then?

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

All valid points but I was only speaking to the instructions given the jury by the judge and their decision based on that and what they heard in court. Nothing else matters.

[TexasCajun]

“We hope this verdict sends a powerful message to McDonald’s and other companies that protecting customers is more important than late-night revenue,” says attorney Chris Hamilton of Dallas’ Standly Hamilton, LLP, lead trial counsel for the teens’ families. “The night these two kids died, this was a dangerous location, and McDonald’s knew it. Yet they did nothing to prevent their senseless deaths.”

With slime-ball lawyers like these, it further encourages business to stay out da hood.

College Station TX is home to mostly white Texas A&M University, where is this McDonalds?

[Amagi]

Absurd.

[JayAr36]

Lawyers, the bane of society. They have perverted a justice systems to turn it into a disturbing legal systems. Between defense attorneys (liars for hire) and televultures I don’t know which to consider the worst.

[Cboldt]

Truth is an absolute defense to a claim of defamation, regardless of how much the truth hurts.

I don't know the facts of the case, but in order to win, Ventura had to prove (the jury had to conclude) that the description of the incident was somehow not truthful.

[Cboldt]

There are jurisdictions in Texas that are known to be plaintiff’s haven, corrupt in favor of the plaintiff.

[jimt]

Bryan is fairly close to Prairie View A&M, a traditionally black university.

[GraceG]

"The big mac is OK, but that disgusting pink/orange/I-don’t-know-WHAT-color-it-is dressing/sauce/goop is just plain sickening"

I prefer dorothy Lynch on my burgers...