McDonald’s Loses $27 Million Jury Verdict Over 2 Deaths

McDonald’s Corp. (MCD) lost a $27 million jury verdict in Texas over a claim that lax security at one of its restaurants led to the deaths of two teenagers.

The victims in the case were Denton James Ward, 18, was beaten to death by a mob at a McDonald’s in February 2012, and his girlfriend, Lauren Bailey Crisp, 19, died in a traffic accident in a futile attempt to bring Ward to a hospital.

The families of both teens sued McDonald’s, claiming the restaurant failed to provide adequate security to protect patrons at its College Station, Texas, location. A Texas, state court jury yesterday awarded the Ward family $16 million and the Crisp family $11 million.

The restaurant where the attack occurred had repeatedly been the site of large unruly crowds and fighting during late-night hours, according to the plaintiffs.

“This restaurant had a horrible history” with police responding more than 200 times to complaints over the previous three years, according to the plaintiff’s lawyer. Local police responded so often to fights at the restaurant that they viewed the site as a “drain on their resources”.