Honesty is the best policy in litigation

A recent jury award of $7 billion proves the best course of action to take when being accused of any wrongdoing is to tell the truth.

Facts

On December 12, 2019, Roy James Holden, Jr., stabbed 83-year-old Betty Jo McClain Thomas to death inside her own home. He hadn’t broken into her home that day, however. He had been invited in to make repairs.

Holden worked for Charter Communications, LLC (dba Spectrum), as a field technician. Spectrum is a cable and Internet service provider that sends technicians into customers’ homes regularly. Because of the nature of the job, he virtually had access to the homes of the hundreds of customers he serviced.

The day before the tragic incident, Holden did work for Thomas at her home. On the day of the murder, he arrived at her home in a Spectrum-labeled company van, although he wasn’t clocked in as an employee.

Thomas welcomed Holden into her home, as she believed he was there to make further repairs. Instead, he stabbed her and stole her credit cards and identification. Thomas’ body was found inside her house later that night. He confessed to killing her once he was apprehended by authorities.

Spectrum’s negligence

Thomas’ family sued Spectrum for the negligence it exhibited throughout Holden’s employment and for its behavior throughout the entire litigation process. The negligence the company exhibited was truly outrageous.