Davis v. Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution
Davis v. Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution
Opinion of the Court
Appeal from a summary judgment dismissal of a false arrest complaint. Affirmed, with costs to defendant.
The uncontradicted facts in this case developed in the discovery process under the rules indicate that plaintiff and her sister
Under these facts the plaintiff asks $180,-000 on the basis of an affidavit and some rather ambulatory answers in a deposition, which were not material or over-unimpressive.
There appears to be no genuine issue of fact here. Unquestionably, the store had probable cause in effecting the detention of both sisters without any legal requirement to respond in damages for an unwarranted false arrest under Utah legislation,
. Title 77-13-30, 32, Utah Code Annotated 1953 (Pocket Supp.).
. 55 Minnesota Law Review 825 (1971); State v. Eastmond, 28 Utah 2d 129, 499 P.2d 276 (1972); Dillon v. Carrington, 169 Colo. 242, 455 P.2d 201 (Colo. 1969).
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting).
I dissent. The plaintiff was detained by employees of the defendant pursuant to the provisions of Section 77-13-30, U.C.A. 1953, which reads as follows:
A peace officer, or a merchant, a merchant’s employee, servant or agent, who has reasonable and probable ground for believing that goods held or displayed for sale by the merchant have been taken by a person with intent to steal may, for the purpose of investigating such unlawful act and attempting to effect a recovery of said goods, detain such person in a reasonable manner for a reasonable length of time.
It would appear that the sole ground for detaining plaintiff was the fact that she was in the company of her older sister who admittedly was guilty of shoplifting. Investigation by the defendant’s employees should have made them aware of the fact that their detention of Denyse was on tenuous grounds. I perceive there are issues of fact as to whether or not the defendant had reasonable and probable ground for the
. Lukas v. J. C. Penney Co., 233 Or. 345, 378 P.2d 717.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Denyse A. DAVIS, and v. ZIONS COOPERATIVE MERCANTILE INSTITUTION, and
- Status
- Published