Berkeley woman sues after she was abducted, dragged around Wal-Mart parking lot

MARTINSBURG - A Berkeley County woman has filed a suit against Wal-Mart after she was abducted and dragged around the parking lot.

Tracey Lynn Snow of Hedgesville filed the suit Feb. 26 in Berkeley Circuit Court against Wal-Mart and the Martinsburg Mall.

Snow's children -- Alex, Kelly and Branden Robinson -- also are named as plaintiffs.

Snow was the victim of a purse snatching incident in the mall parking lot adjacent to Wal-Mart in February 2006.

According to the suit, Snow was shopping at the Wal-Mart at the Martinsburg Mall on Feb. 26, 2006. The suit says Snow finished shopping at approximately 7 p.m. and began unloading her groceries from her cart into her car.

While loading the bags into the car, Snow claims she was abducted by another female and dragged into her vehicle, driven by Brian Grant.

According to the suit, the abductors threw her pocketbook out of the vehicle, but continued to drag her while she was partially out of the vehicle. Snow claims that after what seemed like 20 to 30 minutes, she was able to get all the way into the vehicle and maneuver onto the driver to get him to stop.

Snow claims she suffered injuries to her upper torso and on her arms, which required medical treatment to prevent infection.

According to the suit, the same people that abducted Snow has victimized another female earlier in the day at the same parking lot.

Snow claims her 11-year-old son, Branden, has continued to experience emotional and behavioral problems as a result of seeing his mother abducted.

The suit says Grant's brother was employed by the mall and may have informed him about the lack of security. According to the suit, Wal-Mart breached its duty of care by failing to provide security, including cameras.

The suit also says Martinsburg Mall owed a duty to Snow to decrease her risk of harm and breached that duty by failing to require security personnel to routinely and regularly monitor the parking areas of the mall.

Snow claims she suffered physical injuries, pain and suffering, emotional pain and suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome, and is likely to suffer a permanent psychiatric impairment.

In the two-count suit, Snow seeks compensatory and punitive damages, as well as compensation for her children.

Attorney Laura V. Faircloth is representing Snow. The case has been assigned to Judge Christopher Wilkes.

Berkeley Circuit Court case number 08-C-182