Deborah Barkley v. McKeever Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a Price Chopper
Opinion issued February 24, 2015 (2015)
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Rule of Law:
A merchant's statutory privilege to detain a suspected shoplifter extends beyond the initial recovery of merchandise and protects the merchant from civil liability, including for battery, for the reasonable use of force necessary to continue the detention for a reasonable time to investigate and await the arrival of law enforcement.
Facts:
- Deborah Barkley was shopping at a Price Chopper store and placed several unpurchased items into a reusable shopping bag she carried.
- After her husband paid for other groceries from a cart, Barkley walked past the registers and headed for the exit without paying for the items in her bag.
- Price Chopper loss prevention employees stopped Barkley, confiscated the bag containing the unpaid items, and escorted her to the store's security office.
- Inside the office, after the merchandise had been recovered and police had been called, Barkley stood up from a bench and approached the employees, refusing their commands to sit back down.
- An employee moved to handcuff Barkley, and when she resisted, a scuffle ensued during which she was pushed against a file cabinet and handcuffed with her hands in front.
- Barkley then ran towards the office door in an attempt to leave.
- To stop her escape, employees knocked Barkley's legs out from under her, causing her to fall to the floor, and then re-handcuffed her with her hands behind her back.
Procedural Posture:
- Deborah Barkley was charged with shoplifting in Independence Municipal Court and was later acquitted.
- Barkley sued McKeever Enterprises, Inc. (Price Chopper) in a Missouri trial court for claims including false imprisonment and battery.
- Price Chopper raised the merchant's privilege as an affirmative defense.
- Following a trial, the jury returned a verdict in favor of Price Chopper on both counts.
- The trial court denied Barkley's motion for a new trial.
- Barkley (appellant) appealed the judgment to the Missouri Court of Appeals.
- The case was subsequently transferred to the Supreme Court of Missouri for review.
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Issue:
Does the merchant's privilege under Missouri law protect a merchant from liability for battery committed to prevent a suspected shoplifter from fleeing after the allegedly stolen merchandise has already been recovered?
Opinions:
Majority - Paul C. Wilson
Yes. The merchant's privilege protects a merchant from liability for a battery committed to prevent a suspect from fleeing, even after the merchandise is recovered. The court reasoned that the privilege is not limited to claims of false imprisonment and necessarily includes the privilege to use reasonable force to accomplish the detention, as the privilege would be 'meaningless' otherwise. Citing the controlling statute, § 537.125, and precedent from Teel v. May Dep’t Stores Co., the court held that the privilege does not end upon recovery of the goods but continues for the purposes of investigating the wrongful taking and detaining the suspect to summon police and instigate criminal proceedings. Therefore, Price Chopper was privileged to use reasonable force to prevent Barkley from fleeing while they awaited the arrival of police.
Concurring in part and dissenting in part - Laura Denvir Stith
No. While the privilege to detain continues after merchandise is recovered, the jury instruction erroneously permitted the jury to find the use of force was justified for reasons not authorized by statute. The dissent agreed with the majority that the merchant's privilege allows for detention to await law enforcement after property recovery. However, the dissent argued that the jury instruction was legally flawed because it allowed the jury to find for Price Chopper if force was used simply because Barkley 'refused to follow... instructions' or 'attempted to flee the loss prevention office.' The statute only authorizes detention for specific purposes—investigation and awaiting police—and does not create a privilege to use force merely to compel obedience to any employee command. This distinction is critical, and the erroneous instruction misstated the law and could have been dispositive.
Analysis:
This decision significantly clarifies and strengthens the merchant's privilege in Missouri by explicitly extending its protection to claims of assault and battery, not just false imprisonment. It firmly establishes that the privilege does not terminate upon recovery of merchandise but continues for the reasonable time needed to investigate and turn the suspect over to law enforcement. The ruling shifts the legal battleground in future cases from whether the privilege applies to whether the specific force used and the duration of the detention were 'reasonable' under the circumstances.
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