Currie v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc.2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 4269 (11th Cir. 2008)

For approximately two years, Antoine andAnjailMuhammad had had a close personal relationship. The relationship between the two women was a stormy one, with Muhammad sometimes threatening to inflict physical harm on Antoine. One morning in 2003, Muhammad and Antoine were in Muhammad's car, which Muhammad had parked in a restaurant parking lot in Marietta, Georgia. According to a statement Muhammad later made to the police, Muhammad and Antoine became involved in an argument, during which Antoine said that she wanted to end their relationship. Muhammad also said in her statement that Antoine left the car and started walking toward a Chevron gas station across the street to call her family. Muhammad followed her, and the women continued arguing as they walked across the street.

Pamela Robinson, a customer at the Chevron station, testified at the trial in Currie's case that when she pulled into the station, she saw Muhammad and Antoine approach the station. Muhammad was pulling on Antoine's neck or the collar of her clothing and essentially dragging Antoine. Robinson also stated that Muhammad appeared to tighten her grip when Antoine tried to pull away. Robinson, who watched the two women move in the direction of gas pump number one, went inside the station when she realized that the pump she was seeking to use had to be activated by a Chevron cashier before it would work.JyotikaShukla was the cashier at the station on that day. Robinson testified that she entered thestation and "told [Shukla] immediately that there was something going on with the two young ladies out here and that she needed to contact the police immediately." Robinson explained that she then pointed out the two women to Shukla.

Shukla testified at the trial that she did not know there was anything wrong outside until Robinson came into the station and told her, though an earlier statement by Shukla to the police indicated that Shukla saw the women before Robinson came into the station. Regardless of when she first saw the women, Shukla said that she did see the two women "verbally fighting" and that one woman was holding the other by her shirt. Shukla did not call the police because, according to her testimony, she thought the two women were or would be leaving the Chevron property.

Evidence adduced at the trial indicated that when customers at the Chevron station sought to use a gas pump, they had to lift a lever on the pump. A beeping sound inside the station would then inform the cashier that a customer had lifted the lever. In order for the customer to receive gas through the pump, the cashier would then have to hit the "authorize pump" button. After the pump was authorized, the beeping sound would stop.

The evidence established that Shukla authorized gas pump number one by pushing the appropriate button inside the station. This authorization of the pump enabled Muhammad to use it, even though Muhammad did not have a car on the premises. Shukla testified at trial that she authorized pump number one before Robinson came into the station and before she (Shukla) saw the women fighting, but Shukla's deposition testimony and an earlier statement given to the police indicated that she could not remember whether she knew about or had seen the fighting before she authorized the pump.

Robinson's testimony suggested that Shukla authorized a pumpafterRobinson told Shukla about the two women fighting. Based on her prior experience of working at a gas station, Robinson recognized that a beeping sound informed the cashier that a gas pump needed to be activated. Robinson testified that she heard a beeping sound when she entered the Chevron station. She also testified that the beeping sound stopped "right after" she told Shukla to call the police. Robinson also stated that shedid not ask Shukla to authorize her gas pump until after she talked to Shukla about the two women fighting outside and showed Shukla where they were standingby gas pump number one.Moreover, there were no other customers waiting for other pumps to be authorized.

Shukla's testimony was inconsistent about whether she looked at gas pump number one before authorizing it. She first testified that she did not remember whether she had looked at pump number one before authorizing it, but later she said"[m]aybeyes." In her statement to the police, Muhammad said that Shukla looked at pump number one before authorizing it. Muhammad stated that "[e]verybodywas really helpful like the lady ... in the store.... [S]he just turned the pump on." When a police detective asked, "Even thoughya'lldidn't have a car?" Muhammad responded, "Didn't even have a car right next to it, she just turned it on, she looked at us and just turned the pump on."

After Shukla authorized pump number one, Muhammad sprayed 65 cents worth of gasoline on Antoine. Robinson testified that she exited the station to return to her car to pump gas and immediately saw the two women "in the same position with [Muhammad] holding [Antoine]." Before Robinson got to her car, Muhammad asked Robinson whether she had a cigarette lighter. Robinson said she did not. She then watched the two women as they left the Chevron station, with Muhammad still pulling Antoine by her shirt.

According to Muhammad's statement to the police, she and Antoine left the Chevron station and went back to Muhammad's car. Muhammad then found a cigarette lighter in the car and used the lighter to set Antoine on fire. Antoine ran through the parking lot while on fire and tried to roll over in a grassy area in an effort to put out the flames. A passerby called 911, and Antoine was taken to the hospital. Several weeks later, Antoine died as a result of the burns she had suffered. Muhammad, who confessed to police that she set Antoine on fire, was later indicted on criminal charges of murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and arson.

Could you please develop an IRAC for this case please?