Padlo v. VG's Food Center, Inc.
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
2005 WL 3556245 (2005)
VG's Food Center employees observed Padlo (plaintiff) and a companion acting suspiciously and apparently concealing merchandise, and after confronting them, manager Bingham found merchandise on the companion but none on Padlo, though Bingham reached into Padlo's own pockets to check; the two were held in a closed-blind office awaiting police, Padlo's phone was taken away when she tried calling her mother, and she was later acquitted at trial of retail fraud. Padlo sued VG for false imprisonment and battery, and VG moved for summary judgment.
Whether a defendant is liable for false imprisonment if the defendant reasonably believed there was probable cause to detain the plaintiff.