ihavealife: actually, you are wrong....NEITHER of the Madison malls have cameras. Ancillary businesses may have them in their parking lots but the malls themselves have NONE!! (Inside or outside!)

jvillerdr-- You obviously missed the word "ridiculous" in my post. I wasn't talking about every lawsuit or every lawyer. But there's a lot of ridiculous lawsuits out there, and a lot of them get rewarded by settlements out of court. This seems extremely wrong to me. Lawyers bully people around way too much in this country, and why? It pays off. Lawyers don't get poor from suing people, that's for sure. They make a lot more money than I do, so don't even go there with me with that "why do they even bother" comment.

bbbw, this case may well be dismissed by the judge if it hasn't already settled, but most personal injury lawyers I know (and I'm not talking about the ones you see on the TV ads)actually feel sorry for people and often wind up taking a bath on many of the cases they take, because they front all the expenses and time and often get nothing back. (Do YOU work on a contingency fee basis, where you don't get paid unless you can prove your work actually makes money for your employer?) I don't actually see why they bother, because given that most people have attitudes like yours, I think most people deserve to have no one take up their cause when the shoe is on the other foot and something happens to them. Working in a convenience store would be more rewarding than trying to recover compensation for schmucks who think everyone deserves whatever they get until bad stuff happens to them.

Reliable_source where are you finding this information out at??

It sounds like this case has ended in a settlement. The plantiff's lawyers failed to make a case strong enough to send to the jurors. Let's all pray for Ms. Young to heal and find peace for herself and family.

seems she has been trying longer than just of late.
http://gazettextra.com/news/2007/dec/12/...

Behing every ridiculous lawsuit is a scumbag lawyer who is using someone's painful experience to line his/her pocket in the name of so-called justice. Makes me sick.

shocky- I also remeber it being DURING THE DAY. that is why is was extra odd that nobody saw what was going on.

I dont think she has the right to sue the mall. Maybe she is doing this because she cannot sue a dead guy. This is horrible crime YES and luckily somebody came forward that recognized this guy in the first place from somewhere else in the mall. If you were walking and this happened are you going to sue the city because you were on the sidewalk of the city and there are not cameras? I am not sure you could even sue if you were IN the mall. Cameras CANNOT see everywhere. Well you can try to sue anybody but chances of winning are small and a waste of money form even trying.

DID you just decide to sue after 4 years? WHY so long?

coach- I see the family is sueing the jail cause the guy hung himself- also STUPID. - JUSTICE if you ask me and you cannot keep his bed sheets away.

Maybe she could sue his family too becasue they gave birth to the creep.

WOW just out of hand!! If Iwas the wife I would be happy he was gone- and now she wants money for it.WOW

duecerider1976
funny you mention sueing the people that were near. TRUE story- a woman fell in a grocery store parking lot. she fell into the car next to hers and sued the owner of that car because she hurt herself on that car. NO she didnt win but the owner of that car is out about $900 cause she needed a lawyer.

It's a terrible thing to be a victim in a crime such as this, but it's entirely another thing, and completely wrong, to try and blame the stores at the mall for the situation, as if one mall security vehicle with yellow lights and a few more cameras would have been able to be monitored to the extent that it would have kept this nut from raping this poor girl.

These stores, and government, cannot keep you safe, period! Sometimes bad things happen to good people, and someone or something external to the situation isn't always to blame for it.

I am sorry for her pain, and I wish her the best in recovery, but this case is COMPLETE NONSENSE and wastes everyone's time and money.

This wasn't a store employee who was raped. It was a customer, while in the parking lot. This is a very tragic story, my heart goes out to her. But I don't see how telling everybody in the mall would have made any difference. You can't deter evil-doers from doing evil things. This was going to happen, the actual location was not the cause. The rapists actions were the cause! Unfortunately cameras are on properties not to record customer activity, but criminal activity (i.e. store and employee theft). That is why Kohl's camera was facing the door entrance. So please be aware, whenever you have to go alone.

The police also brought in a poster of the guy. If my memory serves me right, they caught the guy, and he confused to 4-5 other rapes he committed. He said he would watch the girls/women coming out of the mall and then would eventually rape them. I believe he also committed suicide.

The police told my wife and others the rape was commited in the back of the mall around the holidays. The police also told her that several other attempts happened in the area around the mall. Why did the police go around to the other busnessess and notify them personally. Why couldn't the mall also post something for their employees. The police told them to use the buddy system when leaving the store.

Shocky~~I'm assuming there's more to what the police said than what you posted. How did the know there was a serial rapist? One attempted rape does not make a 'serial rapist in the area'. Can you tell us what other facts are surrounding this?
And, I'm not sure it's the mall's responsiblity to tell everyone that shops there that there may be a serial rapist in the area. I mean look at bigger cities, do shopping centers have to diclose there may be gang members, murderers and rapists running amok? Let's face it, when we choose to leave our homes (and sometimes even in our own homes) we are assuming the risk of being around those type of people. Sad as it is. Again, this is just a horrific reminder to stay alert and be careful.

I know for a fact, from my spouse, while she was working in the area of the janesville mall, the mall was covering up the fact there was a serial rapist in the area, and the mall didn't even notify anyone. The police came to the area businesses around the mall and told my spouse and others there was a rapist in the mall area. Where was the notice to people in the mall area when this was happening. If it wasn't for the poli ce coming to the businesses and informing the employees, nobody would have known about it. The attempted rape happened in the mall parking lot at night.....

I agree with coach on this. However, I wonder if the mall/Kohl's would've been sued had he not committed suicide?? JMO

NeuroMed~~security probably walked you out after dark when the store was closed. This happened at 3pm in the afternoon.

Very sorry for what happened to this girl. I've worked retail at malls and always had security walk us to the car after our shift, so I sorta understand her side of it (to a point), although I don't think everyone suing everyone else is necessarily the answer. Interesting how the concern is over having "security" at the Jville mall...have you SEEN the current security people?? They would never be able to deter or stop anything in progress! The mall needs to hire security that could actually run faster than a chunky turtle!

RetiredAirForce: Couldn't agree with you more.

BTW, most cameras in any retail situaiton are not watched by someone unless something happens and they go back to view it. Or if loss prevention suspects a shoplifter, then they watch it to follow their actions through the store. So even if they did have cameras~the probably would not have prevented this attack.

I agree with most. I feel horrile for her, but the mall or Kohl's is not at fault. Unfortunately, crime can happen anywhere~~even our own homes. If he had raped her at home, who would she sue then? I hope she finds a way to heal her wounded spirit and live her life again~~I can only imagine how hard that must be!!

All part of the loss of personal responsibility in so many. Some people looking for blame, or entitlement. The best deterrence to this type of despicable assault is being responsible for your own and your family's safety by being trained to safely carry a firearm. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

Ihavealife...the victim didn't work at Kohl's. While I feel very bad for what has happened to this victim, everyone is correct in saying that no one could have prevented this...No one. It could of happened anywhere else. What if it would have happened at her house, than what would she be able to sue? Plus, even if Kohl's would have had a loss prevention on duty that day, how would they have been able to stop the attack? They wouldn't have been. The mall security can only do so much to. I know the mall doesn't have security cameras, but even if they did could they have prevented this from happening as well? All I can say is, the jury better look at all the facts before they make a decision.

This was tragic, and the person responsible is dead.

Now for the ugly part…money. Lawyers have learned to go for the deepest pockets. Why? That is how they earn their money. No lawyer or firm in their right mind would take a case to simply sue an estate of a normal, non-wealthy person. This is all about a payday for the attorneys; that’s why the mall and Kohl’s are named in the suit. Nothing in this will change any actions at this mall, stores down the street, or Kohl’s stores across the nation. What happened was an act of violence by a scum of society.

The lawyers will get paid. Who from? An insurance company. They will settle out of court before trial to ease the expense of their own attorney fees fighting a case against emotion (everyone in the jury feels for the victim) even though logic says the store and the mall are not at fault.

No one thinks this disgusting action should ever happen to anyone. And we all know suing the mall and Kohl’s will not keep another scum of society from doing this to someone else. Their actions are random and unpredictable; if it were predictable law enforcement could have stopped it from happening and these actions would never occur.

I really feel for the victim and her family. That being said, how is suing the mall and/or kohl's going to help her with her ptsd? This could've happened ANYWHERE.

It's horrible what happened to this woman. My heart truly goes out to her. I'm just wondering if she ever thought about her safety whenever she walked through any parking lot before this happened. I know it's not something I ever think about. I see security cameras in lots of parking lots. I never think about anybody ever viewing the footage from the cameras live. I just assume it's something to look at after something happens so they can get information about who to look for or to find out what happened. It is too bad this cowardly man ended his life before he could pay for what he did. However, it can't possibly be the mall's fault it happened. This is such a sue happy country. Will making the mall pay make what happened to her disappear? I don't think so. Is she never leaving her house anymore and never going to any store that has a parking lot? Come on. It's just as ridiculous as the widow suing Rock County because her husband hung himself. Acts of violence happen every day. If you can, you go after the person that inflicted it. If you can't, you need to find a way to move on. Going after a third party just to get some satisfaction is not the way to handle it. This man was set on raping someone that day. If not her, it would have been someone else, possibly somewhere else. The only one to blame is dead.

I truley feel for the victim here and agree the world is better with one less rapist on the planet. But too many victims like her are looking for a way to get rich from people who had nothing to do with it. If that is the case she should file suit against every person who was at the mall that day for not doing anything to stop it. It is a terrible thing to have happen but move on.

So, what grounds is this woman(the wife of the rapist)suing for? The loss of the man? From what I can see, he wasn't worth anything. Just a piece of scum rapist. I can't imagine her quality of life was so much better with him??!!
As for the victim, I believe that she should only sue the estate of the victim for exactly whatever the wife gets from her lawsuit(if anything). She should not profit because she was married to a rapist that was such a coward that he took his own life because of his sick behavior.
Also, unless the wife knew and supported him in his sickness, she shouldn't pay for the sins of her husband.
But, if she feels that her husband was such a great loss, perhaps she would like to pay for this woman's medical and therapy bills and for her quality of life being stolen from her. I am sure she is haunted by what happened to her and it not only effects her but her family also. She could pay for that too. Oh, and for her husbands other victim as well. There is no way in your know where that the wife should profit for being married to a rapist who KILLED HIMSELF!

This world is a better place without this guy. Glad he offed himself and spared us, the taxpayers, the cost of taking care of him. Sad for his family, but they are better off, too. Just my opinion. If that were my father, I wouldn't want to know him...EVER.

This is an interesting link..this guys wife is trying to sue rock county for him hanging himself.

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-1625...

i agree with the rest of you. it is a horible horible thing that happened to this woman, but it is in no way the malls or kohls fault. are we to hire security if we invite friends over for a birthday party? unfortunatly a few bad people make this world suck. i am sorry for what happened to this woman, but it is the rapist fault and no one else.

She herself has paid a big price, where I don't think she should sue the mall it would be nice if she could sue the family of that sick person who hanged himself if they should win, he was just scum anyways .... my thoughts.

If the mall had cameras the police could of viewed the tapes.It's sad that most stores don't have WORKING cameras.A mall in Madison has ONE camera.How many does the Janesville mall have ?? If I remember ...she also worked at the mall the day this happened.Not sure if it was Kohl's or not....but aren't employers suppose to have safe working conditions for employees ??

When everything has been taken from you, there's nothing left but money. Pay up.

oops No way possible and Just not jsut

Guess they should hire one security guard for every person that steps on mall property. Said security guard should stay with them from the moment they get out of their vehicle until the moment they get back in to leave. Thats the only way to be sure this wont happen again. And we all know this in now way is possible. This woman jsut sees dollar signs and is going for it. Same with the family of the scumbag that did this.

I don't see how holding the mall accountable for any lapses in security is deflecting blame from the criminal. When one is invited onto private property for purposes of commerce that owner has a limited duty of care to its visitors. In particular, the history of sexual assaults without security improvements is likely to be particularly damning if this is presented to a jury.

I also feel for this victim, but I am not sure how one can find fault with a nearby store or the Mall itself. Would a lawsuit be filed if the store/mall never had any security? It is a tragic, tragic incident, but the rapist is probably the only one to blame.

I feel sorry that the victim in this case went through what she did. But I think it is wrong that she blame it on anyone other than Christopher Brown. Brown hung himself in the jail and now his family is suing the county for that. Brown raped the victim, so now she is suing the mall and Kohl's for that. What's wrong with singly blaming Brown for doing what he did? How did Kohl's or the mall have a part in this? Should the other victim of Brown's assault blame the city for not having security on the bike trail? Christopher Brown was the responsible party here. It's unbelievable that his widow would blame anyone for anything - including his suicide. It's unreasonable that the victim in this case blame any one else except for this serial rapist. It saddens me that all anyone cares about it money.