related stories
Wal-Mart Coverage
Stories pertaining to Wal-Mart Stores, Sam's Club, or other related Wal-Mart coverage from the Benton County Daily Record.
- Inside the walls : The world inside Wal-Mart's distribution centers is one of productivity, quality and efficiency. (06-05-2009)
- Letting their hair down : The Vendor Fair reinvents fun for thousands during Shareholders Week. (06-04-2009)
- Seeing the sights : Visitors enjoy learning new facts about Wal-Mart’s hometown. (06-04-2009)
- Fred's bleeds Wal-Mart blue (06-03-2009)
- Pin exchange a square trade (06-03-2009)
- Wal-Mart layoffs shake community : A cloud hangs over retail, restaurants (02-12-2009)
- Painful, but necessary : Economists and area leaders agree Wal-Mart\'s recent layoffs were probably necessary for long-term stability, but that doesn\'t make the pain the region is feeling sting any less. (02-12-2009)
- Wal-Mart not immune : The first of an anticipated 700 to 800 associate jobs at the Wal-Mart and Sam\'s Club home offices were cut Tuesday. (02-11-2009)
- Three years to dirt : The time-consuming process of planning the transformation of Eighth Street into a Wal-Mart superhighway continues. (02-11-2009)
- Two for one : Wal-Mart cut the ribbon on the redesigned Rogers store and its new Latin chicken restaurant. (10-30-2008)
BENTONVILLE — Circuit Judge John Scott has scheduled a hearing to determine whether a former Wal-Mart employee is a limited-purpose public figure.
Jared Bowen, a former vice president of operations for Wal-Mart, is suing the company, claiming the retailer made false and defamatory statements regarding him to local and national media.
The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. July 5.
If Bowen is determined to be a limited-purpose public figure, he then must prove Wal-Mart acted with malice or with reckless disregard for the truth. As a private figure, he must prove a much lower standard — only that the retailer’s acts were negligent.
Bowen was terminated from his job on April 4, 2005. On May 23, 2005, Bowen filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in which he alleged Wal-Mart terminated his employment because he reported former executive Tom Coughlin’s wrongdoing.
Wal-Mart said Bowen defrauded the company using fake expense reports and came forward only after he realized he might be caught. On April 4, 2005, Bowen claims, several Wal-Mart executives phoned him and told him he was being terminated because of a lack of confidence. On April 29, 2005, the suit claims, Wal-Mart issued a news release stating Bowen had been terminated for assisting Coughlin in a scheme to defraud the company.
Wal-Mart’s response to Bowen’s Sarbanes-Oxley complaint contained allegations of fraud and misconduct. The retailer posted the response on its Web site, which broadcast the allegations to the public.
Wal-Mart wants a court to declare Bowen a limited-purpose public figure.
Court documents claim Bowen injected himself into the controversy over the circumstances leading up to Coughlin’s departure from Wal-Mart. Bowen’s claim that he was the whistleblower in the Coughlin scandal put him at the center of that controversy. Bowen tried to convince the public that Wal-Mart had illegally retaliated against him for revealing the facts of Coughlin’s fraud, embezzlement and criminal wrongdoing. Those voluntary actions on Bowen’s part render him a limited-purpose public figure, court documents claim.
Attorneys for Bowen previously filed a motion claiming media interest in Coughlin’s case was a result of Coughlin’s high position in the company and did not involve any actions by Bowen.
Bowen’s only involvement in the publicity surrounding the Coughlin matter stems from three things: Bowen’s termination by Wal-Mart; his decision to take legal action to get his job back; and his public denials of being an accomplice to Coughlin and committing fraud, according to court documents.
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