Cracker Barrel has to cough up a pretty penny after a Tennessee jury ordered the “Old Country Store” to pay a man $9.4 million after serving him a cleaning chemical instead of water, CNN reports.
Though, the amount might be capped because of Tennessee’s law on civil damages. William Cronnon’s attorney Thomas Greer spoke to CNN about the compensatory damages.
“The jury returned a verdict for compensatory damages of $4.3 million in just 30 minutes — one of the fastest verdicts we have ever seen — and awarded punitive damages of $5 million after only 10 minutes of additional deliberation,” Greer told CNN. “The speed of the verdict, combined with an amount in excess of what we asked, speaks to just how dangerous the Cracker Barrel policy was.”
Cronnon was at lunch at a Cracker Barrel in Marion County in April 2014 when he took a sip of the chemical known Eco-San, believing it was a glass of water. He took that sip, “only to immediately realize that it was not ice water but was some chemical that caused a burning sensation in his mouth and esophagus,” the court documents read.
He then went to a nearby emergency room and developed gastrointestinal issues including cramping, reflux pain and more, according to his attorneys at the law firm Bailey & Greer.
While Cronnon is expecting a huge payday because of the April 2014 incident, Cracker Barrel released a statement expressing its disappointment with the verdict.
“While we have great respect for the legal process, we are obviously disappointed by and strongly disagree with the jury’s award in this case, which involved an unfortunate and isolated incident that occurred at one of our stores eight years ago,” the statement read.
“Although we are considering our options with respect to this verdict, we are glad this matter is behind us so we can better focus on caring for our guests and employees around the country,” the statement continued.
