Survivors
of Two Men Killed
ASHEVILLE,
N.C. (APBnews.com) -- In a civil case that could have nationwide implications
for companies whose employees are threatened by potentially violent co-workers,
a jury has awarded $7.9 million to the widows of two managers gunned down in
1995 by a man they had fired two days earlier.
Warehouse
worker James Floyd Davis surrendered to police outside of the Union Butterfield
building shortly after the shootings.
Davis was convicted of first-degree murder in connection with the
shootings and is awaiting execution on North Carolina’s death row.
Surviving
co-workers testified that they heard Davis threaten to “take management with
him” if he was fired, but that management failed to take any security
precautions when warned of the threats.
Davis had been in trouble on the job for at least a year prior to his
termination for arguing or fighting with co-workers on four occasions.
Plaintiffs’
attorney Thomas Ramer of Asheville told APBnews.com that the jury’s
compensatory award to the widows of Frank Knox and Gerald Allman “sends a
message to employers and business owners that they have a duty to take greater
precautions to protect their employees. Juries will hold them accountable.”
There
was no security guard on the premises as Davis came through the plant’s front
door armed with a pistol and an M-1 semiautomatic rifle he had bought that
morning. He shot and killed Vice
President of Finance Tony Baylogh and Purchasing Manager Gerald Allman in the
break room, then headed down the hall toward the management offices.
Defense
attorneys argued during the eight-week trial that Davis bears sole responsibility
for the triple murder and that management could not have known that he would
return to the plant for revenge two days after his firing.
Since
the 1995 incident, the company has begun hiring private security guards to
protect employees when an employee is terminated.