Husband of Murdered Burger King Manager Files Illinois Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Security Company
In Cook County Circuit Court, the husband of a Burger King manager that was murdered in 2006 during a robbery at the fast-food restaurant she was supervising is suing Stand Guard, Inc. for her wrongful death. The company was in charge of providing security services to the Lindenhurst restaurant.
According to Kenneth Hutchinson Jr.’s Illinois wrongful death lawsuit, the alarm systems in the restaurant and its safe did not activate during the robbery, which, Hutchinson contends, resulted in his wife’s death.
The suit says that Mary Hutchinson arrived for work at Burger King on November 27, 2006 and locked the doors upon entering. The man who killed her, James Ealy, allegedly entered the restaurant and attacked her before demanding that she open the safe. Ealy worked as a maintenance worker at the Lindhenhurst Burger King.
Mary at first inputted the wrong code to the safe, which should have activated the alarm if it had not malfunctioned. She was then beaten and strangled. Kenneth’s lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages from the security company.
Earlier this year, a $1.3 million wrongful death settlement was reached between Kenneth and Burger King and a franchisee. Kenneth’s lawsuit accused Fox Lake Family Dining, Northern Illinois Family Dining, Spence Group Service Inc., and William Spence for their alleged failure to do a complete background check on Ealy, who reportedly had an extensive criminal record prior to Mary’s murder. Last year, Lake County prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty if Ealy were convicted for Hutchison’s murder.
Security companies are supposed to provide clients with alarm systems that are free from defect or malfunction. When a robbery, assault crime, or murder occurs because the alarm system fails to work as designated and someone is injured or murdered or experiences a loss of property, the security company may be held liable for personal injury or wrongful death.
In the event that a security malfunction failed to prevent a crime because the manufacturer of the security system designed a defective product, the product manufacturer could also be held liable in civil court. In certain Illinois personal injury and wrongful death cases, there may be more than one party that can be held liable.
Integrator sued over robbery-murder, Security Systems News, October 23, 2008
Husband of slain Burger King manager files suit, Lake County News-Sun, October 17, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Death Penalty Sought In Burger King Murder, CBS2Chicago.com, December 6, 2007
