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The Mullis Melange
| DONALD CRAIG MULLIS / Denies using stapler; Ex-workers accuse car dealer of on-the-job attacks, inj |
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| Contributed by Joe Cox | |||||||
| Monday, 17 March 2008 | |||||||
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Star-News (Wilmington, NC) - January 17, 1998 Author: CORY REISS,
Staff writer
Four men say in separate lawsuits that their boss, the owner of Donald Craig Motor Co., repeatedly beat them up, ordered fellow employees to hit them and punched them in the groin. Two of the former employees also allege that Donald Craig Mullis used a stapler on them, in one case stapling Michael O'Quinn's right pants leg to his right leg. Mr. Mullis denied the incidents with the staplers ever happened. He said the other incidents detailed in the complaints filed in New Hanover County Superior Court were just ''horseplay'' that was common on the car dealership's lot. Only one of the men filed criminal charges. The former employees, Mr. O'Quinn, a service technician; Herman Richardson, a lot attendant; Rudolph Taylor, an inventory control manager; and Wayne Champion, a salesman; are disgruntled, Mr. Mullis said. None of them works at Donald Craig Motor Co. anymore, he said. Mr. O'Quinn and Mr. Champion had been fired within the last 90 days, he said, and Mr. Taylor had been demoted with a pay cut before leaving. Mr. Richardson didn't come back to work after a ''pure accident'' in which Mr. Mullis hit him in the groin, the dealership owner said. Mr. Mullis said he was really trying to ''pat'' Mr. Richardson on the belly. Mr. Mullis said he apologized. Mr. Richardson filed a criminal complaint, according to court records. Mr. Mullis faces a simple assault charge later this month stemming from the incident Dec. 11. The lawsuit Mr. Richardson filed says the incident resulted in blood in his urine and a prostate infection. The four men cited 16 incidents in which they claimed they were hit, kicked or stapled. Mr. Champion complains he was the target of 12 of them on four different dates in 1997, including claims Mr. Mullis and another employee assaulted him ''by grabbing at (his) groin with a pair of pliers'' while other employees held him; that other employees were ordered to hit him for poor sales performance, and that on one occasion Mr. Mullis stapled him in the right hand. But Mr. Mullis said the four plaintiffs engaged in the same horseplay that resulted in the allegations against him. He said that just before the December incident, Mr. Richardson ''was out there slap-fighting with another lot boy'' and accidentally cut him with his fingernail. The four men worked there from one to three years, said Mr. Mullis, and, ''If somebody was beating on those people, they wouldn't work here so long.'' He also said that the horseplay during work has ''all been cut off'' because of the problems it has caused. . Though the horseplay may have resulted in injuries and lawsuits, Mr. Mullis said it was all in good fun. ''We're all real close over here,'' he said. Section: Local/Regional Online: Local/State Page: 1B, 4B Record Number: 114643E6C431C69A Copyright 1998, 2006, Wilmington Star-News
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