B. Sarah Harden works for the Guiding Light, a religious bookstore in Duluth, Mi
ID: 371096 • Letter: B
Question
B. Sarah Harden works for the Guiding Light, a religious bookstore in Duluth, Minnesota. Seven years ago, as an unmarried juvenile, Sarah had an abortion in Illinois. A coworker, Allison, discovers this fact from a chance meeting with one of Sarah’s former high school classmates who heard about it from school gossip. Allison intentionally reveals it to all coworkers in the store who find the fact that Sarah had extramarital sex and an abortion to be deeply offensive. Thereafter, Sarah is ostracized at work and loses a promotion to store manager. Two weeks later, Sarah saw Helen take money from the cash register. When she reported it, the store owner, Solomon (Helen’s grandfather), immediately terminated her claiming that Sarah, not Helen, was the thief. Thereafter, Sarah interviews for other positions but each time the prospective employer refuses to hire her when Sarah truthfully states the reasons Solomon gave for her termination. Does Sarah have a tort cause of action against Allison? Does Sarah have a tort cause of action against the Guiding Light? In your answer be sure to explain whether Sarah can provide the evidence necessary to state a prima facie case for each tort cause of action you identify.
Explanation / Answer
This situation has got both Tort cases and Criminal cases that Sarah has a cause of action against. There are two crime actions (Personal & Property) and 1 Tort action that needs to be taken.
Everything started when Allison intentionally revealed Sarah's private information to co-workers. This is clearly a Personal crime which is “Offenses against a Person” - Any crimes that result in physical or mental harm to another person. This type of Personal Crime by Allison can be defined as Assault/Battery that mounted to the mental harm of the victim. The consequences of this crime include Discomfort (pain and suffering), Lost time from work, Damages for emotional injuries.
The second crime narrated in this case is a Property crime by Helen. Among various property crimes, the act of Helen can be described as Larceny (theft) or Robbery which is also considered a personal crime since it results in physical and mental harm. Evidence that Sarah shall use as prima facie in Helen's case is the CCTV footage from the shop.
The third issue which is a tort case that Sarah can file against is Solomon who is the store owner is a tort case where a civil issue is observed. This case will be categorized under Intentional tort where Mr. Solomon has intentionally terminated Sarah claiming that she is the thief without proper investigation and a clear issue of stereotypic behavior. The magnitude of the effect has damaged Sarah's career where she was unable to get through any other organizations as her prospective employers have refused to hire her. Hence this is an Intentional tort and the elements of the tort include making Sarah as a thief, terminating her from the job citing the same reason.
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