Dillard Department Stores, Inc. v. Silva

148 S.W.3d 370 (2004)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P went to D to exchange three shirts given to him as a gift. P attempted to exchange the shirts at the cosmetics/accessories counter but was told to go to another department. On his way to exchange the shirts, he was distracted by sale items and other merchandise in the store. P made three purchases: a back brush, a travel bag, and another shirt. A D sales associate reported him as a possible shoplifter to her supervisor who told her to call security. Kevin Rivera, an off-duty Houston police officer working security for D stopped P and asked to examine the contents of his bag. In the bag were the three items purchased that day with their receipts and the three shirts he had brought to exchange. There was no receipt in the bag for the three shirts although P maintained that he had one. He asked Rivera to go with him to his car to see if the receipt had fallen out there. Rivera accused P of theft, put him in handcuffs, and escorted him to an office where he was subsequently turned over to the Houston police. P was acquitted of a criminal charge. P sued D for false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, and malicious prosecution. The jury awarded P actual damages of $ 13,124.01 for mental anguish and costs associated with his criminal prosecution. It found that D acted with malice, awarding $50,000 in exemplary damages. The court of appeals concluded that there was no evidence to support findings of negligence or intentional infliction of emotional distress. But, it affirmed the award of actual and exemplary damages, finding evidence to support the jury's findings of false imprisonment and malice. D appealed. D contends that it had the right to detain P under the shopkeeper's privilege.