Judges Uphold Award Against Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. must pay $1.1 million to a customer who slipped on cardboard left on the floor of one of the company’s Sam’s Club stores, a federal appeals court ruled.

The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Wal-Mart’s claims that jurors erred in awarding William Meyers $1.5 million in damages for a broken hip suffered in a 1997 fall at a Michigan Sam’s Club. The judge overseeing the case later reduced the award to $1.1 million.

Meyers was retrieving a box in which to put his purchases when he slipped on loose cardboard. Meyers, 65, sued last year in federal court in Flint, Mich., after undergoing hip-replacement surgery.

Wal-Mart officials weren’t immediately available to comment on the decision.

The appeals court judges said Wal-Mart acknowledged at trial that Meyers slipped on cardboard in the store and that Sam’s Club employees weren’t diligent about cleaning up the area.

Shares of Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart closed up 7 cents at $53.10 on the NYSE.