Firm expands lawsuit against Walmart, demands $750M after janitor films women at Decatur store
By Hope Dean
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ATLANTA, Georgia (WANF) — An Atlanta law firm has expanded its previous lawsuit against Walmart, alleging the stores provide a “fertile crime scene for sex offenders” and demanding $750 million.
In November, five women filed a lawsuit against former employee Lester Jolly and Walmart. They accused the janitor of filming them in the bathroom at a store off Memorial Drive in Decatur and said Walmart was negligent by not preventing the incidents. Jolly was arrested in June and charged with two counts of unlawful eavesdropping or surveillance.
But now their law firm, Jonathan W. Johnson LLC, claims Jolly potentially targeted more than 100 women and children, sending the media to third parties.
The suit also argues Jolly is part of a wider pattern. The firm cited 48 times Walmart customers or employees were sexually violated in bathrooms, making headlines across the country.
“This case is about a nationwide systemic practice of reckless behavior and intentional concealment of crimes by Walmart for crimes occurring in its bathrooms,” the amended complaint, which was filed on Tuesday, states. “… Most of the victims are unaware that intimate videos of them taken in the toilet have been recorded and disseminated.”
The lawsuit claims the company allowed Jolly to continue filming after learning of the incidents and didn’t notify victims about what had happened.
One of the plaintiffs, another Walmart employee, also said management told her not to talk about what Jolly did. When she warned other women, she was fired in retaliation, the lawsuit argues.
While speaking to an attorney with Jonathan W. Johnson LLC, Jolly admitted to filming five or six women, according to a phone call transcript attached to the amended lawsuit. He said he was being blackmailed to film the videos and that the unknown party had hacked his phone, threatening his children. He denied having filmed children in the bathroom.
The lawsuit names several causes for the legal action — including different types of negligence and invasions of privacy, infliction of emotional distress, premises liability and child endangerment.
It also says the Decatur Walmart is also a “hotbed of criminal activity.” DeKalb County police have been called to the store more than 1,000 times since 2019 for everything from shoplifting to sexual battery, a blotter shows.
“This history demonstrates that Walmart is indifferent to the safety of both its customers and (its) employees, in violation of its legal duties to them and in violations of common decency and ethics,” the lawsuit says.
In a statement, Walmart said it is reviewing the amended complaint.
“The safety and security of everyone in our stores, and respect for the individual is always a top priority,” the company said.
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