ATLANTA — A man who was kidnapped at gunpoint from a Home Depot parking lot has filed a lawsuit against the home improvement store.
James Smith said the store duped him into signing a settlement agreement surrounding the kidnapping.
"We were tricked into this," Smith told Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Jones.
Home Depot denies that anyone tricked Smith and his wife, Sophie. She said that's not true and that Home Depot should have never approached them two days after her husband had been kidnapped at gunpoint.
"Because we were very vulnerable and I believe they took advantage of us," she explained.
The incident took place in March as the 71-year-old Smith loaded up his SUV in the parking lot of the Home Depot off Cascade Road in southwest Atlanta. Two men approached him at gunpoint forced him to drive off, Smith said. The men made Smith drive to banks where they forced him to withdraw money before eventually letting him go, he said. After that, Smith said he was a nervous wreck.
"Because of the fear ... two guns, one in back of your head, and one on the side ... I couldn't sleep. I had to take medications. It really shook me up, the retiree explained.
Then he said two days after his ordeal, he started getting phone calls from someone who said he wanted to help. "He didn't explain who he was or nothing. Just said he was from Home Depot," Smith said.
Because the kidnappers took his wallet, identification and bank cards, Smith told the man he says he thought was a customer service representative that a new, more secure door would make him feel better.
That's when he said the man on the phone offered to install a $2,000 security door at his home and give him $500 as a gift. Tired of reliving the nightmare of the kidnapping every time the man from Home Depot would call, Smith said he accepted the offer. He said the Home Depot representative said he needed to sign a release to get the door installed. He said he was hesitant, but was tired of the calls about the incident that he was still trying to recover from.
"I didn't really know what I was doing. I just signed it to get rid of it," Smith said.
Later he said he learned the person he was talking to was a claims adjuster for Home Depot and the release he signed was a settlement agreement absolving Home Depot from any other claims surrounding his kidnapping. Smith's wife was not happy.
"I'm angry with Home Depot," Sophie Smith said.
The Smiths have filed a lawsuit alleging negligence and fraud.
"I think that the fraud is coming from the fact that the adjuster called the Smith's and did not identify himself and essentially misled them into believing this security door was a gift," James Dearing, the Smith's attorney stated.
A spokesperson for Home Depot said the claims adjuster did nothing wrong. Steve Holmes sent this statement: "We were extremely concerned about the crimes committed against Mr. Smith, and our research into that matter showed that the outside claims adjuster worked in good faith on the settlement. Regardless, we entertained demands by Mr. Smiths attorney for additional compensation; and we even offered to engage a mediator to help resolve the matter rather than tie up our court system. Our offer to mediate still stands."
The Smiths attorney said there was no need to mediate when Home Depot would never give him a financial figure to take back to his clients.
James Smith said he is still trying to recover from the kidnapping and never expected Home Depot to add to his pain.
" I feel let down," Smith whispered. His wife chimed in and said, "We just feel like victims all over again."
WSBTV
