Lancaster, CAThe case of the Sears Peeping Tom might have anyone who used the Sears North Hollywood location nervous, and rightly so. Alejandro Gamiz allegedly made a Sears secret videotape of customers using the dressing rooms and change rooms, and the recordings were reportedly released online. Now, allegations have been made that Sears knew about the so-called Peeping Tom well before alerting authorities. R. Rex. Parris, founder of the R. Rex Parris Law Firm, says if Sears knew about the Peeping Tom months before it called the authorities, the company could face Sears Peeping Tom lawsuits.
According to Parris, there should be very little difference in the eyes of the law between people who can prove they were victims of the Sears Peeping Tom and those who think they were victims but cannot prove it, because their trust in the store and in privacy has been violated.
"It seems to me that anyone who has been in the store and used the dressing rooms or bathrooms has to be concerned," Parris says. "There's no difference between being a victim or thinking you're a victim in terms of emotional impact. Anyone who used those rooms is a plaintiff from our view of the law. If you used the bathroom or the dressing rooms during that time, you shouldn't have to show you were filmed, just that filming was going on secretly."
Of major concern is the possibility that children and teens may have been recorded using the dressing rooms.
"If it's just one child being filmed, that's too many," Parris says. "People should be able to send children into the dressing room without the expectation of it being filmed. When that is gone—when you cannot expect that—those people are damaged."
According to Parris, if plaintiffs can prove Sears knew about the filming and allowed it to continue while they prepared their defense, Sears would be considered to have ratified the employee's conduct, opening the door to punitive damages lawsuits.
"Anyone who used the dressing rooms and bathrooms—employees or not—have a case and should assert the case," Parris says. "Especially if it turns out that Sears knew about it for months. What kind of company allows that to go on for months to protect the corporate bank account?"
Parris says he has litigated against Sears in a case involving a Sears worker who was involved in a car accident while driving a Sears vehicle, causing the death of two men. He says he is not surprised that employees claim Sears knew about the Peeping Tom case before alerting authorities.
"Our view is that Sears proactively attempts to cover up evidence when their employees hurt someone," Parris says. "It ties together. Of the companies I've sued, they are the only one to have an accident management team that employees are required to call after an accident. So it doesn't surprise me that employees think Sears knew about the secret recording for four months."
Meanwhile, people who used the dressing rooms and change rooms in question during the time recordings were secretly made should not downplay the hurt this situation has caused.
"Don't just assume because there is no physical injury that it doesn't matter, because it does," Parris says.
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