Tuesday, February 1, 2000
A Kansas City, Kan., plumbing firm has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a negligent hiring lawsuit brought by the estate of a murdered 80-year-old woman.
The suit charged that Reddi Root'r was negligent in failing to conduct a background check on Wesley Ira Purkey, a convicted felon hired by the firm as a plumber.
Purkey was dispatched to fix a leaky faucet in the home of Mary Ruth Bales. Bales was found beaten to death the next day. Police said the Kansas City, Kan., woman was robbed and suffered numerous blunt trauma wounds to the head. Purkey is awaiting trial.
The settlement represents the maximum payable under Kansas' $250,000 cap for wrongful death actions and the state's $250,000 cap for survival actions.
The case was noteworthy because negligent hiring suits, a recent development in tort law, are usually difficult to win. Courts are generally unwilling to impose liability for conduct outside an employer's premises.
"If you hire someone you're going to send into people's homes, those kind of people need to be examined a little bit more closely," said the lawyer for Bales' estate, Steve Six of Shamberg Johnson & Bergman.
THE KANSAS CITY STAR
Section: TUESDAY BUSINESS
Page: D28
By DAN MARGOLIES
To reach Dan Margolies, legal affairs reporter, call (816) 234-7740 or send e-mail to dmargolies@kcstar.com
All content © 2000 THE KANSAS CITY STAR and may not be republished without permission.
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