BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Lawsuits against Walmart filed by a Texas man claiming his civil rights had been violated have been dismissed.
Roderick Jackson, the plaintiff, filed the two separate handwritten complaints without an attorney. They were filed into court on Jan. 8 after being mailed to the United States District Attorney's Office for the Western District of Arkansas (WDAR) located in Fayetteville.
While there are two separate lawsuits, the complaints ask for the same damages and reference the same events.
In each suit, Jackson claims that his civil rights were violated after he was allegedly racially profiled and wrongfully accused of shoplifting at a Walmart in Omaha, Nebraska, in March 2021.
Each suit asks for $100 million or "unlimited free lifetime shopping at any Walmart."
Shortly after the suits were filed, the court found that Jackson's complaints were not properly completed and that he needed to file new ones for the cases to continue.
"Jackson has failed to properly complete the civil complaint form and as a result, it is difficult, if not impossible, for the court to determine the jurisdictional, legal, and factual basis for plaintiff’s allegation of 'false pretense of shoplifting' in Omaha, Nebraska on March 13, 2021," court documents said.
Jackson later filed amended complaints in February. In those, he cites slander or libel, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment or detainment, defamation, and false allegations of a crime as reasons for the suits.
He asked for $100 million in damages in each amended suit but does not mention “free unlimited lifetime shopping.”
Court documents say that Walmart requested the cases be dismissed.
On April 16, the lawsuits were formally dismissed by Judge Timothy Brooks, citing failure to state a proper claim and lack of jurisdiction.
Walmart gave 5NEWS the following statement: "As we’ve said all along, we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind and Mr. Jackson’s claims are without merit. We’re pleased with the Court’s decision."
Jackson is appealing the judge's decision to throw the two cases out. Those handwritten appeals requests were filed on April 22.
5NEWS reached out to Jackson and did not hear back.
Previous lawsuit
Court records show that Jackson sued the company previously in 2021 over an incident at an Omaha, Nebraska, Walmart location that occurred in March of that year. It's not clear if it was the same incident.
In the suit, Jackson says that he was "racially profiled the entire time in the store from the beginning to end which led to false accusations of a crime of stealing, which led to a false arrest." He goes on to claim that he was banned from Walmart and allegedly had personal property taken from him.
Jackson's 2021 lawsuit says that he sustained injuries such as headaches and chest pain from the emotional stress of the incident as well as "frequent pain from too tight handcuffs of being detained."
In the suit, Jackson asked for $100 million, a reversal of his alleged ban from Walmart, a "huge credit for future shopping," and a return of his personal possessions that were allegedly taken during the incident.
An amended complaint filed shortly after asks for $175 million in relief. The suit was filed in April 2021 and dismissed by the court in September 2021. Court filings show Jackson filed a motion to reopen the case on Oct. 12, 2021, which was denied the same day.
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