3 judges toss out appeal in mall case

After a panel of judges determined that it did not have jurisdiction, the Arkansas Court of Appeals dismissed Wednesday the appeal of a $914,000 damage award against a Little Rock mall and its security contractor in a lawsuit over the killing of a food court employee.

Little Rock’s Park Plaza and the security company, ERMC II LLC, were found partially liable in a lower court for the deadly 2013 shooting of Christian Hayes, a Sbarro restaurant manager, by a co-worker and disgruntled ex-employee.

The killers were quickly apprehended and later convicted. Hayes’ mother, Kimberly Marie Powell, sued them along with Sbarro, the mall and the security contractors for negligence.

Powell’s attorneys argued in court filings that Park Plaza and its hired security team knew about a history of crime at the mall, but failed to adequately protect the businesses and their employees.

In October 2015, a Little Rock jury awarded Powell $12.7 million, $914,000 of which was assessed to the mall and its security team.

The two companies appealed, taking the case before a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals.

“Our review has uncovered pending cross-claims that preclude us from reaching the merits of this appeal, and we must dismiss the appeal without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction,” Appeals Court Chief Judge Rita Gruber wrote in her opinion. A case dismissed without prejudice can again go before that court.

The two other judges on the panel agreed with Gruber and neither dissented.

Little Rock attorney J.G. Schulze, who represented Hayes’ mother, said Tuesday that the cross-appeals dealt with legal matters that had yet to be worked out between Park Plaza and the security contractor, ERMC.

He said once those matters are completed at the circuit court level, he expected another appeal.

“It’s neither a win nor a loss, it’s a postponement,” said Schulze.