Fieger files $10 million Rite-Aid lawsuit
February 27, 2001
Woman accuses security guard of clubbing her, pulling off her shirtAmid larger-than-life photographs of Gail Hardy's battered head, Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger announced a $10-million lawsuit against Rite-Aid of Michigan and AARMCO Security in connection with the latest attack by a store security guard.
Hardy claims she was clubbed by a store security guard inside a Rite-Aid at Mound and East Outer Drive on Wednesday after she used a pair of 50-cent nail clippers to trim a hang nail.
Hardy said once her name was called for a prescription, she set the clippers down and attempted to leave the store without purchasing it.
"She told me, You have to buy it, ... .' I said I didn't want it, and she took out a stick and hit me," Hardy said.
Hardy was the third person involved in a violent incident with security guards in Metro Detroit in a year. Fieger has also filed multimillion-dollar lawsuits on behalf of the two men who died after scuffles with store security.
On Friday, Adriane Ishmael, 32, of Detroit, was charged with felonious assault in the attack on Hardy.
Rite-Aid officials did not want to comment on the lawsuit, but company spokeswoman Sarah Datz said Ishmael has been suspended and Rite-Aid is investigating the incident.
John Rutherford, president and owner of AARMCO, said Ishmael did not work for his company but was directly employed by Rite-Aid. He said he would ask for a dismissal of the lawsuit.