LAWSUIT FILED OVER WAL-MART’S VIOLATION OF VISA CHECK CARD POLICIES AND ILLEGAL DETENTIONS AT THE DOOR FOR RECEIPT VERIFICATION

Louisville, Kentucky-Bruce Hillberry, a resident of Louisville, Kentucky filed a lawsuit against the corporate giant Wal-Mart in Jefferson Circuit Court. Mr. Hillberry filed and is handling the matter as a Pro-Se Plaintiff, a move practically unheard of in today’s legal environment. In a strange twist, the Defendant who was named in the complaint failed to answer, creating an interesting legal question that is now being brought to the United States Supreme Court on a Petition for Writ of Certiorari.

The allegations waged against the conglomerate are ones that many average Americans may have submitted to or been a victim of, and not even have realized that Wal-Mart was overstepping its legal bounds. The lawsuit alleged that the retailer has in place a systematic means of requiring the photo identification of the customer when conducting a Visa Card and/or Check Card Transaction. A brief filed by a Wal-Mart subsidiary confirms this. The commercials broadcasted nationwide by the Visa Corporation explain that the main benefit of use of their Card is that Identification is not required. In Mr. Hillberry’s case, the system imposed by Visa was not even attempted. Rather, Wal-Mart has its register systems set to violate the terms of that contractual relationship with Visa and the Customer. The Visa Policy of no Identification required was confirmed through a representative from Visa International.

Also, the Plaintiff alleges that Wal-Mart illegally detains customers at the exit door, requiring them to show their receipt so that purchases can be matched against it. This has been done systematically as well, and various Loss Prevention personnel on Wal-Mart message boards state that the reason is to check for shoplifting. Kentucky law and many other states do not allow you to detain people unless you have valid reason, known as probable cause, to believe that the person has stolen. The practice of Wal-Mart appears to presume all shoppers are criminals. They detain them at the door, sometimes against their will or other times causing a scene if the customer declines sharing the receipt with the employee. This was just the case in a separate incident in Pasadena, TX when a customer was upset at the attempt to check his bags on his way out.

The issues Mr. Hillberry raises are ones of privacy protection, which is very necessary in this day of rampant identity theft. Instead of assistance in this effort by Wal-Mart, they appear to side step the protective measures set by Visa to protect their already bulging bank accounts. Mr. Hillberry lodges this fight on behalf of his own liberties and those of his fellow Americans.

For an in-depth look at this case, please visit www.imsuing.com. You will see letters exchanged and all court documents including the Court's rulings. Due to what the Plaintiff described in his legal brief as Wal-Mart’s arrogance, they allegedly have not been subjected to the Rules of Civil Procedure by the U.S. District Court Justice suggesting judicial support of corporate abuses.