Wal-Mart Stores Fined $50 Million

A Missouri jury decided on June 20 that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville should pay $51.5 million because of the way it ended a business deal with a vending company.

The jury in Mount Vernon, Mo., reached its verdict after a three-day trial in Lawrence County Circuit Court. The jury awarded $1.5 million in actual damages to Service Vending Co. and $50 million in punitive damages, according to an article by the Associated Press.

Bill Wertz, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, said the verdict will be appealed.

“We were definitely disappointed in the outcome,” Wertz said. “We felt the facts demonstrated pretty clearly we had every right to do what we did.”

Wal-Mart has 30 days from Wednesday to file its appeal.

Service Vending of Aurora, Mo., places and manages vending machines in retail outlets. In its contract with Wal-Mart, which was terminated in 1998, the company had 7,008 vending machines in 440 stores in 13 states.

Jim Newberry, a lawyer for Service Vending, said the contract termination was not at issue in the trial, but rather Wal-Mart’s actions after that agreement ended.

“Wal-Mart had the right to stop doing business with us,” Newberry said. But Wal-Mart “put up roadblocks that made it impossible for us to sell that equipment.”

Newberry said Service Vending was in negotiations to sell its equipment in 275 stores to Store Service Inc. That company was going to handle vending services at those stores.

n Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on June 26 said it named Thomas Hyde to the new position of executive vice president.

Hyde, 52, was senior vice president and general counsel of defense contractor Raytheon Co. since 1992. He will also serve as general counsel for Wal-Mart, overseeing the legal activities and affairs of the company’s worldwide operations.

Robert Rhoads, Wal-Mart’s senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, will remain in his current position and report to Hyde, the company said.

Hyde will assume his posts in mid-July, reporting to Lee Scott, the company’s president and chief executive.

“As our senior general counsel, (Hyde) will oversee a challenging area of our business that is taking on an increasingly prominent role for growing multinational companies such as Wal-Mart,” Scott said.