THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 14, 1997 TAG: 9701140246
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ESTES THOMPSON, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: GREENSBORO LENGTH: 71 lines
A Food Lion attorney urged jurors Monday to punish media giant ABC Inc. for lying to do a hidden-camera report on the North Carolina-based grocery chain.
``You 12 are being, in effect, policemen on the media highway,'' Andrew Copenhaver said during closing arguments in the punitive damages phase of Food Lion's lawsuit against ABC.
Earlier, the federal jury ruled that ABC committed fraud, trespass and breach of loyalty during its undercover investigation. The jury awarded Food Lion compensatory damages of $1,402.
``The price tag so far has been cheap,'' Copenhaver said, reminding jurors that ABC's net worth was $18.95 billion last year.
``If you're not careful, the amount you award may be pocket change to the executives in New York City, the cost of doing business,'' he said.
The jury's verdict told ABC it was wrong to have its producers lie about their identities to get jobs at Food Lion, ABC attorney Bill Jeffress told jurors.
``That's going to affect the way ABC conducts itself, the way other organizations conduct themselves,'' he said.
But while Food Lion was deceived, the viewing public saw the truth, he said.
`` . . . They want to punish them for being journalists. They want to punish them for what they found. Food Lion was extremely embarrassed,'' Jeffress said.
The lawsuit stemmed from a Nov. 5, 1992, report on ``PrimeTime Live'' that questioned the Salisbury grocery chain's handling of meat and treatment of employees. Although Food Lion has not said how much it wants in punitive damages, the grocery chain blamed the hidden-camera report on losses between $1.7 billion and $2.5 billion.
U.S. District Court Judge Carlton Tilley said the six-woman, six-man jury would likely begin deliberations today.
Before the closing arguments began, Jeffress asked if the 12-page verdict sheet should contain a total line. Tilley said the damages, if any, could be totaled for each defendant in instances that involved more than one determination.
Food Lion lawyers lost a bid to argue that two senior ABC producers didn't care about the lawsuit because they didn't testify live at the trial. Randy Kaplan and Ira Rosen, both defendants, testified by videotape.
``They were sending a signal that they'll take money but they won't take heat,'' said Food Lion attorney Mike Mueller.
Tilley disagreed, saying: ``I do not find that to be an appropriate argument.''
``PrimeTime Live'' anchor Diane Sawyer, ABC's final witness in the punitive damages phase of the grocery chain's lawsuit, was in the courtroom again. She declined to talk about the case, but said she wanted to hear the arguments before returning to New York.
Food Lion contends ABC made as much as $500,000 profit on the Food Lion segment. ABC said the profit was only $58,970.
In order to get punitive damages, the grocery chain has to prove that ABC willfully broke the law and profited from its actions.
Testimony in the civil lawsuit ended Friday with Sawyer's testimony that she believes hidden cameras are sometimes the only way to get the truth to the public.
Two producers wore cameras in their wigs to secretly tape work in three Food Lion stores in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The ``PrimeTime Live'' report alleged that Food Lion sold old meat, questioned sanitary procedures and worked employees off the clock. Food Lion has denied the allegations, but the broadcast itself hasn't been an issue in the damage trial.
Food Lion decided to challenge the network's methods, arguing that the producers engaged in deception and broke the law on purpose to help ratings and the network's profit and their salaries.
KEYWORDS: FOOD LION LAWSUIT