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Would you be shocked to find out that the worker
sent over to fix your kitchen sink was a violent felon recently
released on parole? Would you expect that the plumbing company
would have your safety in mind and conduct some kind of a background
check on an employee before sending him into your home? Unfortunately
this was not done for Mary Ruth Bales when her sink sprung a leak
and she called Reddi Root'r plumbing company. Mrs. Bales paid
for her misplaced trust with her life. Steve Six represented the
Bales family in their negligent hiring claim against Reddi Root'r.
In September of 1998, Wesley Purkey, a violent
felon who had spent the last twenty-five years in prison for various
violent felonies, including aggravated robbery, burglary, assault
and kidnapping, walked into the Reddi Root'r plumbing company
in Kansas City, Kansas and applied for a job as a service technician
to perform simple plumbing repairs in customers' homes. Purkey
was released on parole on March 1, 1997, having completed a
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Shamberg,
Johnson &
Bergman
John E. Shamberg
Lynn R. Johnson
Victor A. Bergman
John M. Parisi
Steven G. Brown
Stephen N. Six
Stephen R. Bough
Ann E. Agnew
4551 West 107th Street,
Suite 355
Overland Park, KS 66207
913-642-0600
One Security Plaza
Suite M - 4
Kansas City, KS 66101
Scarritt Arcade Building
819 Walnut Street, Suite 205
Kansas City, MO 64106
www.sjblaw.com
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Wesley Purskey
(center), charges with Mary Bales' murder.
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fifteen-year sentence for various violent felonies.
Over the next year and a half he worked in six or seven different
construction jobs, often working less than one week before he
was fired. During this time, Purkey began using methamphetamine
and crack cocaine and was hospitalized twice for overdoses. Purkey
is an imposing 6' 4" in height with numerous tattoos up and
down his arms, including a swastika on his right bicep. At Reddi
Root'r, Purkey completed an application, said he had not been
convicted of a crime or served time in prison and he was hired.
Reddi Root'r gave him a company van and sent him into customers'
homes without checking with any of his prior employers or references,
who were aware of his criminal background, and without conducting
a criminal background check. Concerned about the effect Purkey's
tattoos would have on their customers, Reddi Root'r made sure
Purkey wore a long sleeve white uniform.
Mary Ruth Bales, an 80-year-old widow who lived alone, noticed
her kitchen
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sink would not stop dripping. She called Reddi Root'r, a company
which offered senior discounts, to come repair the sink. Reddi
Root'r dispatched Wesley Purkey to her home. Purkey gave Mrs.
Bales an estimate, collected $90 from her to go buy plumbing parts,
and left. He went to buy crack cocaine, got a prostitute and went
to a motel. After smoking all the crack, he returned to Mrs. Bales'
home, and robbed and beat her to death.
Mrs. Bales' family brought a negligent hiring claim against Reddi
Root'r alleging that the company had violated its duty to evaluate
Purkey's safety and fitness for employment before sending him
into her home. The court granted plaintiffs' motion to add a claim
for punitive damages, although an award of punitive damages would
have interjected an appealable issue into any jury award. The
case was settled one week before trial for the full amount permitted
under Kansas law in a wrongful death/survival claim, $500,000.
Continued on Page 6
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