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twitterLawsuit alleges security lax at shopping center where man slain
Sister of Ashley Furniture manager shot during failed robbery in 2007 claims negligence, wrongful death
Published Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009 | 6:07 p.m.
Rainbow Ridge Plaza
Security was inadequate at a Las Vegas shopping center when a furniture store manager was shot and killed during a robbery attempt, the victim's sister charges in a lawsuit.
Illinois resident Barbara Nepil, sister of Robert Bills, filed suit Monday in Clark County District Court over the Nov. 23, 2007, slaying of Bills.
Bills, 53, an Ashley Furniture manager, was shot during a failed robbery attempt as he left the store to make a nightly bank deposit. Thayer Burton, 17 when he was arrested, was convicted in the killing and sentenced to life in prison.
Defendants in the lawsuit are Burton; Becker Enterprises LLC, owner of the Rainbow Ridge Plaza shopping center at 3130 N. Rainbow Blvd., at Cheyenne Avenue; Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. and shopping center tenant Smith's Food & Drug Centers Inc.
Matt Becker, general manager of Becker Enterprises, said he couldn't comment on the lawsuit allegations. He noted the Ashley Furniture and Smith's Food & Drug real estate pads at the shopping center are not owned by Becker.
The other defendants have not responded to the lawsuit.
Other than Burton, the defendants are described as owners, operators, managers and security providers for the premises.
"Defendants negligently disregarded the safety of persons such as Robert Bills (and) breached their duty by failing to have security on the premises to deter criminal activities," charges the suit, filed by the Richard Harris Law Firm.
The suit claims the shopping center lacked television monitoring equipment or video surveillance to deter criminal activity and lacked an emergency response system. Asserting claims of negligence and wrongful death, the suit seeks unspecified damages.
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this is pathetic
he didnt have to work there!!
what if he burned himself on coffee would you sue then!!
this is the problem this day and age, everyone wants to sue everyone what for? what odes it gain you? cash for you and increased insurance and lack of wanting to employ people for business owners..
right, this is a joke.
maybe it's the city's fault too. or nevada's.
television monitoring equipment/video surveillance doesnt deter crime. Just look at all the robberys at gas stations and convenient store etc..
Attorneys have created work for themselves by advancing the legal fiction because a crime was committed the property owner and employer are somehow responsible. Even if the court throws it out these defendants are out legal fees and costs that should have been spent keeping their doors open.
What's the difference between a lawyer and a trampoline? You take your boots off before you jump on a trampoline.
Common Law has always been seen to require a person who opens a premises to the public to provide a safe enviroment. Failure to do so will subject the premises owner to liability for harm that ensues. Such lawsuits are quite common.
An unarmed, untrained powerless $8.00 an hour Security Guard does not deter violent crime, and neither does electronic surveillance.
Based on the amount of robberies, shootings and killings lately, I would say the same holds true for casino security.
In any event, this is most likely a losing proposition for the complainant.
True, he didn't 'have to work there', but what reasonable expectation did he have that working in a furniture store was a death penalty choice?
Or the murdered 7-11 clerk, the firefighter killed in a collapsing building, the Taxi driver shot to death and robbed, the jogger raped?
Jesus didn't have to preach...all could have avoided murder or violent death.
None of these people 'had' to be where they were, or doing what they were doing, when death found them.
It's nothing to do with who had to work where or why, it's about if the place had a duty to provide adequate security, which it did, for whoever was there, for whatever reason, and if it did so, an innocent person was killed, so it didn't.
Not rocket science.
Dirtbag lawyers playing the lawsuit lottery have substantially increased the cost of doing business in this country. Hell, they've driven off entire industries that used to provid good paying jobs.
All we got in return was a lousy minimum wage job.
Whenever you are in the public, keep your hand on the hilt of your handgun. Only you can prevent daylight robberies!
But it was an employee of Ashley's that set him up! You can argue that Ashley's my have some responsibility for not screening employees better. How can you protect someone when someone from the inside is working with the robber? Good luck she will get something to drop the suit im sure because they dont wanna spend money defending it.
i know lets give them $8 an hour guard an AK47 that will deter anyone..
common law is BS, the fact is you can never supply enough security for anyone, they will still want more and still sue you, this is like suing someone when i burnt the house down for leaving poptarts in the toaster when i went out of the house for 30 mins
lol
You're suing everyone but the guy who killed your brother and the b*tch who set him up in the first place? Money money money. Sorry for the loss of your brother but your greed is sickening. F you and your lawyer.
I think I will sue the City of Las Vegas because my car got a flat on Las Vegas Blvd, and I hurt my hand changing the tire...PLEASE!! GIVE ME A BREAK!!!