A South Carolina jury recently awarded a woman $3.1 million verdict in her defamation case against Target. The woman was shopping at Target when she was confronted by Target employees who accused her of using a counterfeit $100 bill to pay for her merchandise. The store refused to allow her to purchase her items. The Target store then sent email to multiple businesses, government agencies and law enforcement agencies notifying them that the woman was using counterfeit money. Target even notified the woman's employer. The Secret Service visited the lady at her job and interrogated her. The Secret Service stopped the interrogation after it learned that the money was real. The jury returned a verdict as follows: $100,000 in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages. The plaintiff's lawyer argued to the jury that Target wants people to come to its stores and spend money, but instead of taking his client's money they took her good name. And you can look everywhere in the store but you cannot find a good name for sale. Apparently, the jury agreed.
