Judge dismisses Wal-Mart life insurance suit

TAMPA -- A federal judge has dismissed a Hillsborough County man's lawsuit against Wal-Mart over a life insurance claim the company received when his wife died.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge James S. Moody Jr. dismissed the suit filed in July by Richard Armatrout, because it failed to reach the $75,000 limit for a civil complaint to go before a federal judge.

When Karen Armatrout, 50, died of cancer in 1997, Wal-Mart collected $72,820.30 from an insurance policy the retail giant had in her name. Armatrout's husband sued, saying the couple never knew the life insurance policy existed and that he received none of the payout after his wife's death.

Armatrout's attorney had argued that the lawsuit exceeded the $75,000 limit if punitive damages were included.

Karen Armatrout worked at a Wal-Mart pharmacy on Waters Avenue in Tampa and took a leave of absence from work when doctors diagnosed her with cancer.

Michael D. Myers, a Texas attorney representing Richard Armatrout, said he anticipated the case would be thrown out of federal court because of the legal technicality. Before Moody's ruling, Myers filed Armatrout's lawsuit in Pasco County, along with a similar case for Pasco resident Wayne Atkinson. Myers said that Wal-Mart also collected on a policy when Atkinson's wife, Rita, died.

Myers estimates that Wal-Mart secretly insured about 350,000 rank-and-file employees nationwide for two years beginning in 1993. Wal-Mart officials said they dropped all of the policies by the start of 2000.

Myers has won previous settlements against Wal-Mart in Texas and Oklahoma. In the Oklahoma case, a judge approved a $5.1-million class-action settlement in a case brought by the estates of deceased Wal-Mart employees. A $10-million settlement was reached in the Texas case.

Myers said he's hoping that a Pasco County judge will grant his motion to give Armatrout's case class-action status for similar estate claims in Florida. 

-Kevin Graham, Times staff writer

Comments

Shady .... no wonder Walmart can cut prices.

[MamaM]

I have worked at wal mart (yes small case letters!) for 17 years. I wonder what kind of insurance they might have had for me. How can an employer take out a policy on an associate and NOT pay out to the family? Can you imagine the payouts to wm if they did this to thousands? What a crock of b......t!! You can bet I will be sending this to my fellow associates!!