Court overturns law shielding lawsuits from injured crooks

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      Court overturns law shielding lawsuits from injured crooks 
      Paul Davenport 
      Associated Press 
      Jun. 3, 2006 12:00 AM 
      An appellate court on Friday overturned a state law that shields 
      businesses and others from lawsuits brought on behalf of people injured 
      while committing a crime.

      The ruling stems from a case involving the death of a shoplifting suspect 
      while he was being restrained.

      The Arizona Court of Appeals said the 1993 law that applies to negligence 
      lawsuits by people who committed misdemeanors violates the state 
      Constitution's guarantee of the right to sue to recover damages. 

      "An injured party may bring an action for damages arising out of allegedly 
      unwarranted or excessive force, and any disputed facts or inferences to be 
      drawn from undisputed facts in such a case must be resolved by a jury," 
      Judge Joseph Howard wrote for a three-judge panel in Tucson.

      The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by the widow of Frank Hernandez, a 
      36-year-old Tucson man who died of asphyxiation Feb. 26, 2004, at a 
      Safeway store in Tucson after a confrontation with a security guard.

      Hernandez was suspected of shoplifting a bottle of moisturizer. The 
      plainclothes guard handcuffed Hernandez after the two struggled. The guard 
      placed his arm around Hernandez's neck, and two store employees each held 
      an arm.

      The guard worked for Sonoran Desert Investigations Inc., a contractor for 
      Safeway.

      The ruling came on an appeal in which Safeway and Sonoran Desert 
      Investigations argued that a trial judge should have ruled that the 
      lawsuit was prohibited under the liability law in cases involving people 
      committing misdemeanors.

      Attorneys for Safeway and Sonoran Desert Investigations did not return 
      calls for comment. However, lawyers for Hernandez's widow said they expect 
      the ruling to be appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court.

      During arguments before the Appeals Court, one of the judges hearing the 
      case observed that the law would effectively prohibit any misdemeanor 
      suspect from successfully suing to challenge excessive use of force, said 
      John Brewer, a Phoenix attorney representing Hernandez's family.

      Businesses should get new motivation to pay attention to whether security 
      guards abuse their authority, Brewer said.

      "I think it will put a lot of security guards in check," he added.
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