Cable company ordered to pay over $7 billion in damages to family of Texas grandmother murdered by employee

Gives new meaning to "cut the cord."

How much would the jury have ordered if grandma was Black or brown?

Well guys, I must confess that any time a service man of any kind comes onto my property (even outside), I make sure I'm wearing something with front pockets and put my (smallish) handgun (.380) in the right-hand pocket. Yes, I know it's said that I'll be more likely to get killed with my own gun, yada yada yada, but still... You can only do what you can do.

A representative of Spectrum added, "We still want our $58 "

[quote] Yes, I know it's said that I'll be more likely to get killed with my own gun, yada yada yada, but still... You can only do what you can do.

Yup 14 - 17 times more likely to use the gun on yourself or friends and family than an intruder.

[quote]I make sure I'm wearing something with front pockets and put my (smallish) handgun (.380) in the right-hand pocket.

I, too, make sure I’m wearing something with front pockets and put my hand in my right-hand pocket to fondle something (smallish).

Irrational verdict that will either be set aside on review or greatly reduced.

[quote]Well guys, I must confess that any time a service man of any kind comes onto my property (even outside), I make sure I'm wearing something with front pockets and put my (smallish) handgun (.380) in the right-hand pocket.

Most women I know have a routine for when male service workers enter their home. Often it involves a combination of opening windows, unlocking all doors, and talking to a friend on the phone throughout the appointment. Some carry mace.

Devious workers are unlikely to do anything terrible while on the clock, so it's good practice to double-check door and window locks after they leave. At a former employer, we once found that a cable installer had subtly tampered with the latches on a rarely-used door. He could've easily returned that night and stolen a bunch of new electronics.

If they get even one percent of that judgment they're probably thinking, "well, she was 83..."

They probably completely neglected her and are now profiting off her death.

[quote]attorneys for the communications company “used a forged document to try to force the lawsuit into a closed-door arbitration where the results would have been secret and damages for the murder would have been limited to the amount of Ms. Thomas’s final bill.

What in the fuck. Absolute scumbags.

$7 billion is absurd.

Even their behavior after the fact in forging documents is not sufficient to merit that kind of award.

The punitive damages should be high given all their failures. They do need to be punished severely for both their screening failures and the forgery. But, this is ~$100mm, not $7b.

[quote]" Attorneys for the communications company “used a forged document to try to force the lawsuit into a closed-door arbitration where the results would have been secret and damages for the murder would have been limited to the amount of Ms. Thomas’s final bill."

This was likely a big reason for the huge amount.

They should bankrupt the skeevy company. Fuck then for hiring losers who cased out homes while on the clock. Imagine what kind of person could be so cold blooded to murder a little frail old lady.

I have Spectrum, awful cable/internet company. Sometimes my internet speed is about what dial-up used to be 😠

The CEO should have been executed as well, but this is an okay outcome.

And how will this affect my cable bill?

^ Badly, you don't they're going to pay the judgement out of company funds or executive bonuses, do you?

[quote] Attorneys noted that even after the grisly murder, her family was hit with a bill from Spectrum that included a $58 charge for Holden’s service call and the unpaid bills eventually were sent to a collection agency.

[bold] ...a bill from Spectrum that included a $58 charge for Holden’s service call

WTF???

No wonder the judgement was so high.

I wonder if whoever forged the documents in R13's postcan be held criminally liable, or whoever ordered the forging.

[quote] pay the judgement

Oh, dear!

[quote]I have Spectrum, awful cable/internet company. Sometimes my internet speed is about what dial-up used to be

It's amazing how much worse Spectrum is than Time Warner even though it's literally all the same infrastructure and people. And, Time Warner was awful.

I can't wait until 5G becomes low enough cost to replace Spectrum. The second I can get an unlimited data plan and download speeds of at least 100 Mpbs with 5G, I'm out of there. Right now, I can't find a mobile hotspot plan that gives more than 100 GB which isn't nearly enough for one month.

Had Spectrum because it was the only cable supported by my apartment building. It was slow with constant problems that needed repairmen to come in and fix.

Then I moved to a building with Verizon Fios. Much faster and not a single problem in 5 years

^ and you haven't gotten murdered yet

Yet.

That new series of Spectrum commercials with that irritating guy are going to push me to murder.