Niessel v. Meijer, Inc., Unpublished Decision (12-17-2001)

CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 17, 2001
DocketCase No. CA2001-04-027.
StatusUnpublished

This text of Niessel v. Meijer, Inc., Unpublished Decision (12-17-2001) (Niessel v. Meijer, Inc., Unpublished Decision (12-17-2001)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Niessel v. Meijer, Inc., Unpublished Decision (12-17-2001), (Ohio Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION
Plaintiff-appellants, Mark J. Niessel and Jennifer Niessel, appeal from a Warren County Court of Common Pleas judgment granting summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee, Meijer, Inc. ("Meijer").1 The trial court's decision is affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings.

On December 9, 1998, Mr. Niessel was stopped by Middletown police shortly after shopping at the Meijer store located in Middletown. Looking for stolen Meijer merchandise, police officers searched Mr. Niessel and his vehicle, but no such merchandise was found. Subsequently appellants filed a lawsuit against Meijer, alleging false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium. The Middletown Police Department was not joined as a party to the lawsuit.

After deposing Mr. Niessel, Meijer filed a motion for summary judgment. Subsequently, appellants' counsel deposed two Meijer employees and three members of the Middletown Police Department. The depositions filed for consideration of summary judgment included the following testimony:

Mr. Niessel testified that he went to Meijer to purchase a birthday gift for his sister. At the toy department, Mr. Niessel bought a bag designed to carry in-line skates. After making this purchase, Mr. Niessel went to the compact disc ("CD") section and found a C.D. that he also wanted to buy for his sister. He selected the C.D. and went to the front of the store to checkout. Mr. Niessel testified that when he saw that there were ten or twelve people standing in each checkout line, he returned to the counter in the toy department to see if he could pay for it there. Mr. Niessel testified that because no one was there to help him, he decided to return the C.D. to the place where he had found it and exited the store. As Mr. Niessel left, the greeter told him to have a nice day.

Mr. Niessel testified that he walked through the parking lot and got into his 1993 red Chevy Blazer. He backed out of his parking space and pulled out of the aisle. Mr. Niessel testified that he then stopped his vehicle and reached down to remove the receipt from the skate bag and put it in his wallet. Mr. Niessel left the parking lot, turned right and stopped at the second traffic light, waiting to turn left onto Route 122. After the traffic light turned green, Mr. Niessel made the turn and was immediately stopped by an officer of the Middletown Police Department. A second police officer parked in front of Mr. Niessel's vehicle.

Mr. Niessel testified that he was told to

roll my window down, put my hands out the window, drop my keys, [and] open the door with my right hand keeping my left hand out of the window. And as soon as I stepped out of the door, both officers grabbed me and told me to put my hands on the vehicle.

Mr. Niessel put his hands on the vehicle, and the officers kicked his legs apart and frisked him. Mr. Niessel testified that he "felt like [he] was in a scene from Cops * * *." Mr. Niessel asked the officer "what this was all about" and an officer told Mr. Niessel that he was "suspected of shoplifting from Meijer's."

Mr. Niessel testified that he told the officer that he had purchased something from Meijer and that the bag was in his vehicle and the receipt was in his wallet. Mr. Niessel offered the officers his receipt and his identification. An officer went to the passenger side of Mr. Niessel's vehicle, opened the door, and retrieved the bag. After obtaining the bag, the officer searched Mr. Niessel's vehicle. In the meantime, a third Middletown police officer arrived. Mr. Niessel was told that he had to wait until the Meijer associates arrived before he would be free to leave. A fourth Middletown police officer stopped at the scene.

Mr. Niessel testified that when the Meijer associates finally arrived, one of them "high-fived" one of the police officers. Observing the woman's actions, Mr. Niessel believed that she was saying something like "we got him." Mr. Niessel began walking toward the Meijer associates because he was upset, but he was stopped by a police officer and told that he could not confront them. Mr. Niessel testified that he was agitated and wanted an apology.

Mr. Niessel testified that after the officers spoke with the Meijer associates, Mr. Niessel was asked for permission to search his vehicle again. The officer did not find anything during this search. Mr. Niessel asked whether Meijer was going to apologize. Mr. Niessel testified that the officer replied, "I can't tell you what Meijer's is going to do * * *, but as far as you're concerned, our business is done. I appreciate you being so cooperative. You're free to go." Mr. Niessel testified that he "got in my vehicle and left, went home shaking."

Mr. Niessel testified that the encounter lasted fifteen to twenty minutes and left him upset and irritated. According to Mr. Niessel, his wife stopped by Meijer the next day and spoke to the manager, who denied having any knowledge of the incident. Mr. Niessel testified that the manager said that he would talk to someone and contact Mrs. Niessel about it but never did.

Mr. Niessel testified that he was not receiving any mental health treatment for reasons related to the incident. Mr. Niessel admitted that he is able to continue his "normal day-to-day business" but stated that he avoids the city of Middletown. Mr. Niessel stated that he thinks about what happened "constantly." Mr. Niessel explained that each time it enters his mind, "I go through the entire incident from start to finish, and I feel the same way I did that day * * *." Mr. Niessel stated that he has been angry since the incident and that although he has not "snapped" he feels as if he is "on the edge." A few people in Mr. Niessel's life have told him that he should attend counseling, but Mr. Niessel has tried to "take care of these feelings * * * on my own terms and my own way." Mr. Niessel testified that the feels like he was "depants [sic] in front of six hundred people * * *."

Heather Anne Howison, Meijer's loss prevention manager at the time of the incident, was also deposed. Howison testified that she has been trained to look for suspicious behaviors in order to detect shoplifters. Howison testified that examples of suspicious behaviors included people dressing inappropriately for the weather, people carrying large purses, and people putting small items in their shopping cart and blocking these items with large items. Howison also testified, "If somebody comes in and goes right to a product, doesn't even look at a price or anything, and just grabs it up, that's not a norm."

Howison explained that she first observed Mr. Niessel on a black and white video that showed shoppers in the store. When asked what behavior she observed that raised suspicion about Mr. Niessel, Howison testified that the fact that he was carrying a large bag and his manner of selecting merchandise seemed suspicious. From watching the video, Howison could not determine whether the large bag Mr. Niessel was carrying was a Meijer bag or not. Howison testified that she "observed [Mr. Niessel] pull CDs from the rack, and he didn't spend much time looking at titles or prices or anything." Howison testified that she saw Mr. Niessel for the first time "seconds before" he selected a CD. Howison then observed Mr. Niessel turn around and leave the aisle immediately.

Howison asked Sandra McRoberts, a Meijer store detective, to turn the camera to the front doors. Howison testified that when a customer leaves the aisle, he leaves the view of the camera. The next time she saw Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
Niessel v. Meijer, Inc., Unpublished Decision (12-17-2001), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/niessel-v-meijer-inc-unpublished-decision-12-17-2001-ohioctapp-2001.