Family business wins two trials, now faces a third

“I know what it feels like to sit in a jury trial and see your life being auctioned off to the highest bidder.”

Steve Arnold · Peachtree Pest Control · Atlanta, GA

 

“Everyone deserves their day in court,” says Steve Arnold, the owner of Peachtree Pest Control in Loganville, Georgia. “But when is enough, enough?”

He’s referring to a fourteen-year long ordeal that forced his small, family owned business to endure a lawsuit, two trials, heavy legal expenses, and endless hours of wondering whether his business would survive.

It all began in 1996, when Steve was informed of an individual claiming they got sick due to pest control work done by Steve’s company. He investigated and found that the individual worked nowhere near where his technicians had performed their work. Despite this, Steve’s company was sued by the individual.

After going through a full trial, a jury found against the plaintiff and absolved Steve’s business from liability. The plaintiff refused to concede and appealed the verdict.

Five years later, after a second trial, a jury came up with an identical verdict: Steve’s business was not liable.

But the story still isn’t over. The plaintiff is threatening to appeal the second verdict and seek a third trial, which Steve could avoid by settling with the plaintiff for $500,000, despite the fact that his business did nothing wrong.

In addition to the endless hours and numerous legal expenses associated with going through multiple trials, the uncertainty created by the lawsuit has made it hard for Steve’s business to plan for the future or contemplate expansion.

“You’re unable to do anything during that process,” Steve says. “It ties you down so much.”

And leaving aside the obvious economic costs of going through fourteen years of litigation, Steve mentions the emotional impact of having to sit through endless legal proceedings where his business’s hard-earned reputation is dragged through the mud.

“It tears me up to this day,” he says, “sitting there thinking that everything I built is on the line.”

 

347 Comments

  1. Michele Torres said on January 7, 2011 at 10:58 am #

    I hope Peachtree Pest Control comes out on top for the third time. It is all about the money they will keep appealing to try to get a payoff. Keep up the fight and good luck.

  2. Paul Harrington said on January 7, 2011 at 12:12 pm #

    I went through a product liability suit that lasted 7 years. We won, but it was costly.It was all done on the pretense that it was cheaper for the insurance company to pay he claim rather than fight it. We insisted they fight it on principel. $100,000 suit cost $150,000 to defend. Offer to settle for $35,000 was rejected just before jury went out. Scumbag went home with nothing. This system is definetly messed up.

  3. j said on January 7, 2011 at 1:13 pm #

    Why did the judge not find in favor of the defendant with prejudice (i.e. the case would be closed and the prosecution can’t refile)? And why would a judge even entertain it? Did she appeal because she then couldn’t pay attorney’s fees? That’s crazy. Sorry you went through that. What was the outcome of the 2nd appeal?

  4. mary said on January 7, 2011 at 1:29 pm #

    Seems like the law needs to change, once the verdict is made then that should be it. The owner of this business needs to try to change this law.

  5. Diana said on January 7, 2011 at 2:15 pm #

    The jury decision on appeal should be honored and this plantiff should be told that his day is over.

  6. Deaver Brown said on January 7, 2011 at 5:37 pm #

    We got outspent $850,000 to zero to get whacked on behalf of the “investors” as the excuse. No investor sued; they prayed we’d make it, which we squeaked through on. No one testified against us; but, smears worked–and the real issue to the judge was “why would they spend the money unless they were right?”

    Love your website. In our home town, the plaintiff lawyers closed our playground–because of fear of suits.

  7. Deaver Brown said on January 7, 2011 at 5:38 pm #

    to $25,000–my error.

  8. Roxane Grove said on January 7, 2011 at 6:30 pm #

    I’m so sorry to hear what this man and his company has to go through by someone who looks like they are just trying to scam money out of him. They have nothing to lose but he has. It’s just pathetic.

  9. Joey said on January 7, 2011 at 8:37 pm #

    I feel for you. People are always trying to get money from someone sorry your business is on the line.

  10. Robert Wood said on January 7, 2011 at 11:12 pm #

    There are some lawyers who LOVE to sue. The courts support them. There are judges who are likely to find in favor of the person suing. Jury trials are time-consuming and costly to participate in. A small business could be easily wiped out from frivolous law suits. The person suing has nothing to lose by continuing their appeals. This could be a legal way to blackmail . Or did the prosecution present a case poorly?
    Tough call.

  11. Jim said on January 7, 2011 at 11:17 pm #

    First off Steve needs to understand there are people out there looking for nothing but money, i say to heck with it do not pay the settlement! if you do you are saying you are quilty even though you done no wrong, and then the community will doubt your company is honest based on ones lies, go to court again and stand your ground and then turn the tables on the plaintiff sue them for slander and have them pay all attorney fees from past to present, do not give in or you loose everything.

  12. Patricia Clark said on January 8, 2011 at 2:41 am #

    My husband has sued me for my half of our home to give to his children by a former wife. He closed all our bank accounts (over $100,000) and put the money in his family’s name. We are 70 years old and live on social security. He is retired Military and has two other retirement incomes. The court gave him sole possession of our home and I have no place to live since I cannot afford rent. He is ill and his daughters told him lies about me that he believed. Now he is suing me for my half of the house since I cannot afford an attorney. What am I going to do? Money runs the courts.

  13. Iz Gonzalez said on January 8, 2011 at 3:23 am #

    Sorry to hear this…lawsuits are the worst since the innocent get prosecuted. Small business get hit hard. The spirit is broken as it took inspiration & perspiration to build the place up in a way money cannot buy. All the best.

  14. Tony said on January 8, 2011 at 5:05 am #

    What is also sad is that their Lawyers are telling them to pursue it cause they get paid off of it as well. I think Lawsuits should be the same as any other trial, once found “not guilty” they can not keep appealing it or they can only appeal so many times. Everytime I hear about how bad the economy is, I think of people who are doing the sueing and go “gee I wonder why?” Something for nothing, a lot of people want a paycheck and not work. Sad, Sad people. Good Luck from one small business owner to another.

  15. Sonya Donson said on January 8, 2011 at 11:56 am #

    DO NOT let this person win. DO NOT SETTLE. You did nothing wrong. Settling sends a message to all the small business owners that anyone can sue for nothing, win and screw the one actually trying to make a life for themselves and their family. Settling is doing whats wrong…..

  16. charles fordham said on January 8, 2011 at 12:01 pm #

    the law should allow the winner to collect legal expenses from the looser in a case like this. After 2 losses it is almost blackmail to continue.

  17. Sonya Donson said on January 8, 2011 at 12:01 pm #

    On a side note…. shouldn’t the loosing party be required to pay the court costs? That might stop frivilous law suits or trying 2 and 3 times to win a past failed suit.

  18. Cecilia said on January 8, 2011 at 12:05 pm #

    What an awful story and my heart breaks for you. Can’t you countersue for harrassment? Have you been able to ask for attorneys’ fees in any of the proceedings? Just wondering. Where is the plaintiff getting all that money to hire attorneys who know the case is a loser?

  19. Debra said on January 8, 2011 at 12:23 pm #

    I cannot believe that this jerk can get away with this. Have you tried contacting lawyers like F. Lee Baily? The noteriaty would be good, they could fight and win.

    Your business has been cleared in each trial. I KNOW your company is not in the wrong. But if you give in and pay the creep, HE will win, and everyone will think you WERE to blame and just tried to get away with it. And he will do it to some other poor business.

    You need to be strong and fight for what is right. I can only inagine how hard it is to go through such an ordeal, but know that there are people out here pulling and praying for you.

    YOU will win in the end. And you will survive. And you will re-build your business stronger than before.

    Take care, and may the new year bring peace, joy and happiness for you and yours.

  20. melody said on January 8, 2011 at 12:32 pm #

    why can’t you countersue for hindering your livelyhood?

  21. G. Grimmett said on January 8, 2011 at 1:00 pm #

    that is one of thr things that is wrong with our justice system.. Gold diggers they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  22. Heather said on January 8, 2011 at 4:39 pm #

    This is terrible. Small businesses should not be terrorized by money hungry individuals hoping to hop on the fast track.. Our justice system is seriously lacking in morals sometimes..

  23. Regena Williams said on January 8, 2011 at 4:40 pm #

    Steve,

    You and your company will be in my prayers..Dont give her a dime!! You will be blessed and one day she will be judged and have to answer for this crime she has committed agaist you.

    Best wishes,
    Regena

  24. Rose said on January 8, 2011 at 4:48 pm #

    this is crap. sue back!!! mental anguish! everyone knows this is abuse why allow it? u can’t be fair or nice anymore! the only way to win is sue and fight back with everything! don’t give them a dime! make them work for their money just like u do

  25. gus allen said on January 8, 2011 at 10:17 pm #

    I cannot believe the justice system is allowing this kind of junk to plug up our legal system . The plantiff is just wanting something for nothing . I ts so sad that we allow this garbage to go on .
    desquil

  26. D Bentley said on January 8, 2011 at 11:00 pm #

    counter sue for damage and suffering and reputation for a frivolous law suit. they aren’t damaged and if you counter sue there is finally an end.

  27. Karen Houk said on January 9, 2011 at 12:19 am #

    As long as the Legislative branch is more concerned with taking care of their (lawyer) brothers than they are “we the people” this sickening behavior will continue. They should be looking at insurance & tort reform to stop this kind of abuse. Instead… they make business pay more for their evil acts of providing jobs to the masses!

    Very sorry that this family has to endure the financial and emotional cost for something so frivolous!

    Shame you can’t counter sue and get your time and money back from this person who has been working the system.

  28. Al Coley said on January 9, 2011 at 12:34 am #

    Where does the statue of limitations run out on this case? I believe the whole idea of the continuous appeals is to run the Peachtree Pest Control business into the ground. After winning two previous trials, why can’t the state step in and say that this case is closed?

  29. Keith said on January 9, 2011 at 1:32 am #

    I think one thing that would stop a lot of this type of abuse is if the lawyer for the plaintiff had to pay a stiff fine for bringing a frivolous lawsuit. Maybe they would think harder and make sure the case was legitimate before forcing others to spend large sums of money to defend themselves. These lawyers take the cases on a contingency so if they do not win then they get nothing but the person being sued will be out a large sum of money with the possibility of losing everything. For instance, if the jury perversely decides to award the plaintiff a ridiculous amount as punishment, the insurer will only cover so much. Anything over that is the responibility of the defendant. And if someone offers to let you settle out of court, that means they are really just in it for the money. No real harm was done.

  30. Hugo Rabson said on January 9, 2011 at 1:40 am #

    It’s the Law. Due process is everyone’s right.

  31. G.F. "Hookman" Brown said on January 9, 2011 at 2:09 am #

    I think you and your website are DISGUSTING.
    For you to use your enormous access to resources to try to DESTROY the legal rights of MILLIONS of Americans,who have little or no access to resources, is absolutely dispicable.
    Your ONE-SIDED portrayal of America’s legal system is nothing short of perverted.The GREED and CORRUPTION of you , and people like you, is destroying our nation from the inside out.
    Your study measures PERCEPTION and touts it as fact.
    You survey only CORPORATE COUNSEL and claim balance and fairness.
    Again, Sir,You and your website are dispicable and disgusting.
    >>>>>>>>>>>>
    Where are the comments?
    This is my second, yet I see none.Are you hiding what you don’t want your target audience to see?

    G.F. “Hookman” Brown
    Houston, Texas

  32. anthony Drago said on January 9, 2011 at 3:27 am #

    Welcome to the real UNITED STATES where you can be sued and sued again for the same thing and nothing happends to the plaintiffs, I say file a defamation suit against the plaintiff and ask for 10 mil.

  33. Deborah Rizer said on January 9, 2011 at 9:12 am #

    The third appeal should never have been allowed or accepted. I agree with this guy when he says “when is enough, enough.”

  34. robert cauthen said on January 9, 2011 at 11:42 am #

    based on the results from the two trials, it should be clear the company is not at fault. the other party should be held liable for extortion after they came forward saying they would go away for 500,000. This is all an attempt to extort a large sum of money from an honest business, why has no other people working there came down with an illness.

  35. Cami said on January 9, 2011 at 2:36 pm #

    Steve should countersue for mental anguish

  36. Peter Roach C P A said on January 9, 2011 at 4:22 pm #

    This sound serious serious. What do you propose. ?
    I did not thing that one could have double jeopardy in a civil case of this type.

  37. Chris said on January 11, 2011 at 1:30 am #

    @ G.F. “Hookman” Brown: I completely agree. Every account listed on this site is from a single biased point of view. The facts of the case are never discussed, the view of the opposing party is never published, and no impartial third-party comment is shown. There is no problem with “frivolous” lawsuits in America; cases cited as examples are either dismissed or include important facts ignored in popular culture.

  38. Don said on January 11, 2011 at 5:11 am #

    Given the nature of the chamber, I’m not surprised that there’s no mention of the grounds for the appeal. This may be an abuse of the system, but they don’t provide enough info to be able to tell.

  39. Pete DiAngelo said on January 12, 2011 at 2:20 pm #

    Is this the case at http://caselaw.findlaw.com/ga-court-of-appeals/1278834.html? Because it looks like the trial court did commit error, and when it does, the appeals court is going to award a new trial. That’s just the way our system works. In this case, the Peachtree employee mixed the pesticide in a manner other than that prescribed; there seems to be no dispute of that. The question is simply whether or not his negligence was the cause of the plaintiff’s ailments, and that is a question for the jury.

    As long as the trial court commits error, the aggrieved side is going to appeal. The problem appears to be a poor judge at the trial level.

  40. Scott Porter said on January 16, 2011 at 7:57 pm #

    I own a small business with 20 employees. The justice system encourages abuse against business. I have faced it myself. The road we’re traveling down as a country is the strangulation and death of small business owners. One person can only take so much vile abuse from a small percentage of consumers out to legally scam you of money. The first time I stood my ground and defended my integrity. It cost me $10,000 to prove myself right, when I could have settled in the beginning for $3500.

  41. nexium and alchohol said on March 25, 2011 at 11:44 pm #

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  42. Chuck Stout said on May 20, 2011 at 5:31 pm #

    the answer of course lies in adopting the British
    legal system which requires the losing party to
    pay the cost of defending their complaint. In this
    case litigants would think twice before bringing nuisance complaints.
    Additionally we need to reform the tort system and bring the lawyers under control. Certainly the whole class action suits have been a real
    losing situation for all concerned.

  43. john said on May 21, 2011 at 2:38 am #

    All of you mean well but are mistaken. This site gives the impression that most lawsuits are frivolous. That is untrue. If your loved one is injured, try dealing with the insurance company. Then you will see that plaintiff lawyers serve as a “check and balance” on insurance companies.
    There is also much misinformation on the site. I am amazed at how people act like they know something about law, which is a highly technical field. Someone said the plaintiff keeps appealing over and over. There is only a limited right of appeal. There are many opportunities for frivolous lawsuits to get dismissed long before a trial. This site is anecdotal and is obviously endorsed by non-lawyers who simply don’t understand the system.

  44. Joe said on August 15, 2011 at 5:49 am #

    File bankruptcy, close the business, then start a new one under a new name. When the old business ceases to exist, so does it’s ability to be sued.

  45. Cliff Coatney said on August 23, 2011 at 4:19 am #

    This story doesn’t make any sense. Why would the court system give a new trial to anyone, unless there was something wrong with the earlier trial. If this company truly never serviced the client who sued, that case would be thrown out without any jury trial whatsoever. Something is missing from this story.

  46. OldWrangler said on November 20, 2011 at 11:08 am #

    Our problem is that there are too many crooked lawyers that haven’t been elected to something yet or become a judge. Our problem is lawyers. It is time to get them out of politics and from behind ambulances.

  47. Caretaker said on January 1, 2012 at 11:51 am #

    If the Plaintiff and their Attorney were made to pay Court costs and defense attorney fees these frivolous lawsuits would end. Many countries follow that concept under Commonwealth law and it works.
    Reducing the cost of Insurance would have a profound impact on the economy and our way of life.

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