Copyright 1994 The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

November 30, 1994

Two file lawsuit against BP, say stations are unsafe for employees

By: Sandra Eckstein

A lawsuit claiming that BP service stations were designed to increase sales at the expense of safety was filed Tuesday in Fulton Superior Court.
The suit was filed by Eddie Huntly, a former clerk who was shot while working at a BP service station, and Elizabeth Asbell, the sister of a clerk who was killed while working at a station.

Asbell's brother, James Douglas Hill, was killed Oct. 24, 1993, at 1695 Northside Drive, and Huntley was shot while working at 3040 Headland Drive.
The suit names BP, along with three men who were convicted in the Hill killing, as defendants.

The suit claims the stores were designed with "an open environment to increase retail sales without providing appropriate security devices which minimized the safety and protection of the retail salesperson."

Gilbert Deitch, the attorney filing the suit, said BP should have known its stores were crime targets.

"There had been numerous crimes at and around both these stores," Deitch said. "I believe BP knew or should have known about them."
The suit seeks unspecified damages of more than $ 50,000 on behalf of each plaintiff.