Tort Scenario and Instructions: You are a store manager for Blounts Health Foods, Inc., a successful regional health food chain in East Texas. The CEO of Blounts Health Foods is its founder, Justin Blount. Mr$.$ Blounts father was a convicted violent criminal who became reformed while in prison. He was released from prison when Mr$.$ Blount was $15$ years old and was a loving, committed father. However, he always struggled to find and maintain employment because no one wanted to hire a former criminal. This experience has led Mr$.$ Blount to run his business in a very unique way. Blounts Health Foods is founded on two principles: $1.$ To provide people with affordable, healthy food and nutritional supplements. Mr$.$ Blount is very passionate about healthy eating and the positive effect it can have on people, particularly with respect to the current obesity and chronic disease epidemic in the United States. $2.$ To provide previously incarcerated individuals with good jobs. $75\%$ of Blounts Health Foods workers are individuals who have been released from prison. Mr$.$ Blount is passionate about giving these individuals a second chance, and thus he hires former prisoners, pays them above market wages, and even has a very generous employee scholarship program to help them get a college education, if they so desire. He currently has no formal policy regarding the evaluation of former criminals for hiring he lets each store manager make their own decisions regarding whether or not they believe the individual is reformed or not. While Blounts Health Foods receives a lot of positive press for this business model, a recent controversy has arisen in the store you manage. A customer came into the store very agitated about a supplement she had purchased from the store. She confronted Sally, a store cashier $($a young, $18-$year$-$old girl working part time after school$)$ about the supplement, claiming it did not work and demanding her money back. She also began screaming about how the store is a fraud, sells fake supplements, and that she is going to contact the police and the news about getting Blounts Health Foods shut down. Sally handled it very professionally, telling the customer that she understood her concerns, but did not have authority to address the issues she was raising and that she would need to talk with the store manager $($you$).$ You were out for lunch at the time, so Sally told the customer you would be returning shortly and that she could wait in the store for your return. The customer was not happy with this response, became more agitated, and began to yell and pull merchandise off the shelves. Bill, the store inventory director, is a former criminal $($he was incarcerated for aggravated assault in a domestic violence case$).$ He overheard the commotion from the back of the store and came to the front just as the customer began throwing merchandise. Bill is $64$ tall, $250$ pounds, and very strong. Concerned for Sallys safety, he intervened in the situation, grabbed the customer by the wrist, and told her to leave the store. She turned to him and threatened to hit him. At that point he grabbed her arm, twisted it behind her back, and pushed her out the front door, locking it behind her. Bill remained relatively calm throughout the entire incident, but because he is so strong, he dislocated the customers shoulder when he twisted her arm and broke her wrist. Her injuries have required extensive surgery and she has been unable to work because of them. The customer has retained an attorney and sent a demand letter to Blounts Health Foods, demanding a $$1,000,000$ settlement or else a lawsuit will be filed. The basis of their allegation is that Bill used unreasonable force in restraining Sally, that he was acting within the scope of his employment when he did so$,$ and thus Blounts Health Foods is liable for Bills tort. Additionally, they have demanded that Bill be fired. To make matters worse, another customer was videoing the entire exchange on her cell phone. She immediately uploaded the video to YouTube, and it has since gone viral and has been picked up by the national media. As one could imagine, the video has caused a national debate. Some people are hailing Bill as a hero for intervening in the situation and applaud him for remaining calm and removing an unruly customer from the store. Others are saying that given Bills distinct size and strength advantage, he was clearly using excessive force and should be prosecuted. Additionally, once it was discovered that Bill was previously in prison for domestic violence some commentators have questioned Blounts Health Foods policy of giving criminals a second chance. From your perspective, Bill has been a reliable, calm employee. You have never had any disciplinary issues with him, nor has he given any indication that he is violent in any way. He is popular with the other workers, and none of the other employees have voiced any concerns about being uncomfortable working with him, including Sally. However, you do realize that this situation looks really bad and could create liability for the company. Mr$.$ Blount has called you for a meeting to discuss how this matter should be handled, as well as to get your opinion regarding the companys policy on hiring prior criminals. Mr$.$ Blount is known for being a reasonable, level headed CEO who values the opinions of his store managers and likes to give them a lot of autonomy in running their stores. However, he is also very passionate about his companys mission of giving previous criminals, even violent ones, a second chance once released from prison.Instructions: Two main issues you need to address are: $1.$ How, specifically, do you think the company should respond to the demand letter? Do you think the plaintiff has a valid case? Should you settle? Why or why not? $2.$ What should the company do about this public relations nightmare and this employment policy regarding former criminals? Should it be ended, continued, or is there some middle ground? Make sure you thoroughly analyze the legal situation before making your recommendation. Additionally, I will be asking you questions about the law in this area. All of the law that you need to analyze this problem has been covered in this class. Particularly look at tort law as well as agency law. You must come to the meeting with some type of specific proposal for both of these problems and be prepared to defend it$.$ You can discuss other issues you think are relevant if you wish, but make sure you are well prepared for at least these two specific issues.