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August 13-19, 2020
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Record & Observer DUVAL TRIAL MAKES HISTORY Record & Observer JACKSONVILLE
Plaintiff awarded a nearly $355,000 verdict in the first remote jury proceeding in the U.S. since the COVID-19 shutdown.
Bankrupt Stein Mart to begin ‘wind down’
The Jacksonville-based retailer will close “a significant portion, if not all” of its 281 stores.
JACKSONVILLE
Record & Observer BY MARK BASCH
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
JACKSONVILLE
Struggling fashion retailer Stein Mart Inc. filed a petition for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 12 and said it plans to close “a significant portion, if not all” of its 281 stores in 30 states. The company said it is continuing to operate the business for now but has launched a store closing and liquidation process. It did not give a timeline for when s to re s m ay close. The bankruptcy filing came a day after Stein Mart laid off about half of the 340 employees in Hawkins its Jacksonville headquarters office including President MaryAnne Morin. Stein Mart has a total of 7,950 employees, according to court documents. “We announced this morning that we have filed a motion seeking court approval to begin an orderly wind down of our operations as soon as reasonably possible,” CEO Hunt Hawkins said in an emailed statement. “In partnership with our finan-
Record & Observer TRIAL BY ZOOM Plaintiff Cayla Griffin, her attorney, Matthew Kachergus, and Circuit Judge Bruce Anderson take part in the first virtual trial in the U.S. since the COVID-19 pandemic. The faces of the jurors are blurred.
BY MAX MARBUT ASSOCIATE EDITOR
T
he first civil trial with a jury and binding verdict in the U.S. since the pandemic began ended at about 5:45 p.m. Aug. 10 when the jury’s $354,833 award was read into the record at the Duval County Courthouse. Jury trials were suspended in midMarch to slow the spread of COVID-19. Through their service, the jurors in the
remote trial “brought the sound of justice back to the courthouse,” said presiding Circuit Judge Bruce Anderson. The case, Cayla Griffin v. Albanese Enterprise Inc., d/b/a/ Paradise, a gentleman’s club, was filed in February 2019. Griffin, a dancer at the now-closed club, claimed she was assaulted a year earlier by two club bouncers after a dispute over whether she had been fired the night before. She presented evidence of broken bones and teeth, lacerations and a con-
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cussion and that she suffered pain and mental anguish. Griffin was represented by Matthew Kachergus with Sheppard, White, Kachergus & DiMaggio. A default judgment was entered against Paradise before Griffin’s case was heard and the defendant chose not to participate in the trial. The jury was empaneled solely to determine the award for damages. Of the 54 jurors examined Aug. 6-7,
SEE STEIN MART, PAGE 8
MORE INSIDE Reaction to the Stein Mart bankruptcy. Page 8.
SEE TRIAL, PAGE 6
THE BASCH REPORT
Rayonier CEO: Employees home for the rest of year Awaiting vaccine or big reduction in new cases. PAGE 4 VOLUME 3, NO. 11 • ONE SECTION