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Bad ruling spurs mistrial in Sears suit By Chris Bristol A $6.6 million lawsuit against Sears ended in mistrial Wednesday, ruining two weeks of testimony and sacrificing the time a Jackson County jury spent on the case. Without elaborating, trial judge Ross Davis said he was forced to declare a mistrial because he made an incorrect ruling last week that put the defense "in an impossible position" and could be cured only by terminating the proceeding. "They were gracious," a chagrined Davis said of the jury, "but they weren�t happy." The lawsuit stems from a bizarre 1995 altercation at the Sears Medford store in which two customers were arrested and prosecuted for fighting with the store�s security manager, Tom Gonzalez. The altercation began when one of the customers, Tom Burns, tried to return five pairs of worn-out jeans. The second customer, Michael Turpin, eventually tried to intervene, and all three men tumbled to the ground. Turpin was in the store to see a manager about a tire dispute and did not know Burns. The second half of the altercation was captured on tape by the store�s security cameras. Burns and Turpin sued the store after they were acquitted of all criminal charges in the case. They blame the store for hiring Gonzalez, an ex-cop from California who has an extensive criminal background that includes 10 felony convictions. Unbeknownst to the jury, Gonzalez was later convicted of possessing child pornography. He spent time in a federal prison and was released just before the trial. The ruling that caused the mistrial occurred last week, when Davis approved a defense motion and tossed out the plaintiffs� claim of negligence on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. He left intact other claims, including assault-and-battery, false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Apparently the statute of limitations had not expired, however, and Davis was forced to declare a mistrial because the defense had all but finished its case and most of its witnesses had been released. "I wish this hadn�t happened," he told the attorneys Wednesday, "and I feel bad about it." It was unclear how soon a retrial could be scheduled. In the meantime, Davis offered to help negotiate a settlement in the case. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA