Jury Awards $20.3 Million in a False Imprisonment, Assault, and Battery Case Against Rite Aid

A Maryland jury has delivered a verdict against Rite Aid for more than $20 million due to injuries sustained by a young Black woman who was held against her will by a Rite Aid pharmacist while acting in his employee capacity.

The verdict includes punitive damages against Rite Aid for $20 million with the pharmacist personally liable for $10,000. Ebony Bates, while attempting to fill a prescription for her wife, was assaulted by Rite Aid pharmacist Richmond Muraguri, suffering an almost complete tear of the ulnar collateral ligament of her right thumb. Muraguri then directed store employees to lock the doors to keep Bates from exiting the store.

Maryland attorney Lorraine Lawrence-Whittaker, lead counsel for Bates, said, “Here is a case where a customer was treated horrendously by an employee of a national company.”

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