Garrett v. Tandy Corporation.

295 F.3d 94 (5th Cir. 2002)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P entered a Radio Shack store seeking to purchase a police scanner. P was the only African-American on the premises at that time. Three employees -- all of whom were white -- monitored his movements, and at least one of them accompanied him throughout his visit. A clerk told P that the scanner he wished to buy was not in stock. P did find a book, a telephone, and some batteries that were to his liking. At the checkout counter, he bought those items and asked whether the scanner might be available at another branch. It was not. At the checkout counter, the store manager requested P's name and address. P obliged. Soon after P left a laptop computer worth approximately $2,000 was missing. The manager reported the alleged theft to the Brunswick police, told them that he suspected D of the theft, and supplied the officers with D's address. An officer went to P's home searched his dwelling and his car, and found no trace of the stolen computer. P called D to complain about what he believed to be unjust and racially discriminatory treatment. The manager told him that all the customers who were in the store during the same time frame had been reported as suspects in the theft. This was patently false. There were 3-4 other white customers in the store at the same time as P and none of them were reported. Other than reporting P to the police D made no real effort to find the computer. P asserted violations of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1982. The second asserted a violation of the Maine Human Rights Act (MHRA). The third asserted a claim for defamation. D moved to dismiss and eventually, all three claims were dismissed. P appealed.