Fayetteville, Arkansas (ECN) - An Arkansas couple are suing McDonald’s restaurant after nude photos of a woman that were stored on her husband’s phone, left at one of the chain’s restaurants, were published online.
Phillip and Tina Sherman have filed the lawsuit against McDonald's Corp., Mathews Management Co., and Aaron Brummley, who is a manager at the Fayetteville, Arkansas location where the phone was held overnight. The Shermans’ hope to receive over 3 million dollars in damages, due to “emotional distress, embarrassment and damage to their reputations and the cost of moving.
The cell phone was accidentally left at the McDonald’s restaurant on July 5th after the couple had eaten there. The manager Aaron Brummley called Sherman’s mother after discovering the abandoned phone and promised to care for the phone overnight until Philip Sherman could retrieve it. Staff promised to keep the phone safely until then.
However, after Philip Sherman retrieved the phone, his wife began receiving threatening calls and messages from strangers. This caused the Shermans’ to become suspicious about what had occurred with the phone.
Soon afterward the Shermans’ found the private photos that Tina Sherman had sent to her husband’s phone published on the Internet along with their names, address, and phone numbers. Pictures of Tina Sherman were altered to contain McDonald’s franchise logos, along with slogans such as, “I’m lovin’ it,” and “Hot as McDonald’s coffee.” The photos were located on several different sites online, but have since been removed.
The Sherman’s also hope to gain compensation from McDonald’s for the cost of the relocation of their family. They claim that they are no longer safe because their private information has been published for anyone to find. They also are claiming loss of income charges, due to the turmoil that this incident has caused in their lives.
McDonald’s has made no public statements regarding the matter. Sources suspect one specific teenage employee of the Fayetteville McDonald’s of publishing the photos, but no official charges have been made.
In response to this individuals should be mindful to keep their cell phones with them at all times. It is also important to be careful of sending personal information over the phone, as such information is easy to lose or be viewed by a party other than the intended recipient.
When a cell phone is lost, it is easy for someone to steal any information contained in that phone. Cases like these remind us, that it is better to be safe than sorry.
