NEW ORLEANS — A federal jury found that a Harahan Hobby Lobby discriminated against a Jefferson Parish man with intellectual disabilities when he was thrown out of the store and then pepper-sprayed three years ago.
Charles “Chip” George, was awarded damages after his attorneys argued that the actions of the store manager violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by treating him less favorably than others because of his disability. But the jury of six women and two men rejected a separate claim that the store failed to provide reasonable accommodations for George, and reduced the damages from about $450,000 to $10,000.
In the civil case filed on behalf of George by his family, attorneys claimed that George shopped at the Harahan store along Citrus Boulevard for over 10 years without incident. George liked to buy paintings of comic book superheroes like Batman, Superman and the Incredible Hulk.
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George’s intellectual disabilities rendered him with an elementary-school reading level and an inability to tally the amount of his purchases. He often asked store employees to do the calculations for him so he’d know if he had enough money to buy the paintings he wanted. He visited the store multiple times a week.
On the morning of Nov. 27, 2023 — the Monday after Thanksgiving — the store was in “chaos” with customers waiting in long lines, several witnesses testified.
When a new store manager, Heather Ford, spotted George asking one of her customer service managers to add up the amount for his order, she told him the store was too busy and he’d have to come back later. George began shouting obscenities and Ford told him to leave.
She then called 911 and reported George for loitering, being belligerent and refusing to leave the store. She asked for officers to “come talk to him” and said she wanted him banned from the store. George’s attorneys said she didn’t inform the deputy that he had intellectual disabilities.
When a deputy arrived, George tried to punch the officer and was taken into custody for resisting arrest with violence. According to court records, the officer deployed pepper spray in George’s face and mouth. The burst also hit his sister, Kimberly George, and Kimberly’s boyfriend. Both had intervened to try to restrain Chip George, who ended up spending 25 hours in jail before family members managed to bail him out.
Prosecutors did not pursue the criminal charges, deeming George incompetent to stand trial, court records show.
“We feel vindicated,” lead plaintiff attorney Christopher Edmunds said following the verdict. “It’s very stressful going to trial, Hobby Lobby had very competent legal counsel. But the jury heard all the evidence and at the end of the day, the jury has spoken loud and clear that Hobby Lobby violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Hobby Lobby’s attorneys sought to prove that providing the accommodations George demanded would’ve caused the business to fundamentally reshape its operations — an exception to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Hal Ungar, the attorney for Hobby Lobby, said that the plaintiff’s legal team showed no evidence of discrimination and argued Ford would’ve taken the same measures to remove anyone who was causing a similar scene inside the store.
“This case is about if it’s okay and reasonable to say ‘no’ if someone is being belligerent,” Ungar told the jurors. “Their strategy was to call Ms. Ford a monster. Over and over. And it was just to distract you with parlor tricks to hide the lack of evidence.”
Following the verdict, Edmunds said he plans to ask presiding U.S. District Judge Barry Ashe to issue an injunctive order requiring Hobby Lobby to train employees at its thousands of stores on the Americans with Disabilities Act. He’ll also ask that the permanent ban be lifted so Chip George can return to Hobby Lobby.
“One of the big things I wanted out of this was for the employees to have the training throughout the whole country,” said Karen Meyer, the plaintiff’s other sister. “So at least they will have other tools or options on how to de-escalate, rather than escalate a situation.”
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