Tennessee High Court Allows Parking Lot Claim Against Wal-Mart

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that a woman injured in a Wal-Mart parking lot in Red Bank can proceed with her negligence lawsuit against the store.

Jolyn Cullum filed the case after she was injured when a car driven by another Wal-Mart customer backed into her vehicle.

The lawsuit alleges that the other shopper, Jan McCool, had been denied service at the Wal-Mart pharmacy because employees believed she was intoxicated. But they did not call police or otherwise prevent her from driving.

The case was initially dismissed on the basis that Wal-Mart had not have a duty to control McCool, but the Court of Appeals reversed that ruling. The Supreme Court agreed that there were sufficient facts in the case to keep it from being dismissed.