A few weeks ago I came across a news story that may be of interest to anyone who owns an RV. This worrisome tale was first reported in the Salt Lake Tribune and passed along by Nick Russel on his site badnickblog.com. Nick a fellow full-time RVer who, along with his wife, has been on the road for over ten years. (His primary site, gypsyjournal.net, is well worth checking out for anyone interested in the RV lifestyle.)
Back in 2006, Florida RVers Carl and Tracy Coltellino and their two young daughters were boondocking overnight at a WalMart in Cedar City, UT. They got into an altercation with a stranger, a man named Steven Stubbs, who was creating a ruckus in the parking lot and knocked on their door. They opened it, a fight ensued and Mr. Coltellino ultimately killed Mr. Stubbs with a shotgun that was in the RV. No serious harm was done to the couple or their children.
No charges were filed in the shooting, but it is now being reported that the Coltellinos are suing WalMart. They are claiming that the store was negligent in protecting them and that they have suffered medical problems and emotional distress arising from the incident.
First, let me say that I hope no one ever has to face a violent encounter like this one. I have been threatened with bodily harm numerous times, once at knife point, while working as a park ranger and providing security for the resort we managed. The events left me shaken and second guessing myself for weeks. Any time you have a violent encounter it takes a toll on your psyche.
However, there are some important questions that need to be ask about the actions on the part of the Coltellinos in this matter. The primary one is, "Why did you open your door to a crazed stranger?" They could have called the police or driven away. Another question would be, "Why did it take you four years before deciding to file these claims?" Have they suffered no medical problems or emotional distresses long before now? But the most disturbing one is, "Why did you have a loaded shotgun accessible in your motor home with two young children present?" Even if it was safely stored away and they still had time to load it, they also had the time to make a phone call or, again, just drive away. While I would defend myself, Deb and our home with any means necessary, the one thing I do know is that we would never open the door to a stranger and use all available options to avoid a violent situation.
Instead of taking other options, the couple now wants compensation for a dangerous situation they partially put themselves in. Real nice. Thank you WalMart for saving me the cost of staying in a campground, but, screw you, here's a lawsuit.
We have spent a lot of time at WalMarts over the past year because they are very RV friendly. The parking lots are big enough to maneuver through with a large vehicle, most stores stock a good variety of RV related products and almost all allow overnight boondocking. In almost every one we have visited there has always been a security guard present regularly patrolling the parking lots.
The WalMart in Cedar City did not make this shooting happen by their negligence. If anyone is to blame for what happened, besides the intruder himself, it is the couple in the RV who did everything wrong. Happily, they escaped with their lives and those of their children. But now they expect to profit off of this unfortunate calamity.
I can see WalMarts battalion of lawyers doing two things. One is to offer the couple a financial settlement to make the matter go quietly away. The other is presenting the company CEO with a recommendation to bar all RVers from boondocking on any company property in the future. If that happens we can all thank the Coltellinos and their shyster lawyer that helped with this frivolous lawsuit.
Copyright 2009-2010 Lane A Geyer
Photos by Deb
