Dolgencorp, LLC v. Michelle Spence

Summary

The court reversed a $100,000 jury verdict against Dolgencorp and remanded for entry of judgment as a matter of law on the malicious-prosecution and defamation claims and for a new trial on the remaining submitted claims. It held that dismissal of the store manager did not adjudicate the merits or bar respondeat-superior claims against Dolgencorp, and that sufficient evidence supported submitting the assault-and-battery, negligent-training, and false-imprisonment claims to the jury. Because the jury returned a general verdict that could have rested on improperly submitted claims, the entire judgment had to be reversed. No separate opinions were filed.