Blume v. Fred Meyer, Inc.

Plaintiff brought this action for false arrest and malicious prosecution, alleging that she was unlawfully arrested pursuant to defendant Fred Meyer’s policy of randomly checking for receipts. The jury returned a verdict in favor of plaintiff awarding her compensatory damages of $25,000 and punitive damages of $450,000. Defendant appeals. We affirm.

Plaintiffs claim arose from an encounter at about 6:30 p.m. on May 22, 1995, at the Hollywood West Fred Meyer store in Northeast Portland. At the time of the incident, plaintiff, an African-American, was 26, and lived in Portland with her mother.…