TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Supreme Court ordered a new trial in a bizarre case of a bank teller falsely reporting a robbery because of a customer’s Miami Heat hat.
Jurors awarded Rodolfo Valladares $3.3 million for injuries received in 2008 when a police officer kicked him in the head in a case of mistaken identity.
Valladares was trying to cash a $100 check. But the teller had been shown a photo of a bank robbery suspect that morning who was wearing a Miami Heat hat like the one Valladares wore. She panicked and hit the silent alarm.
The court’s ruling on Thursday found Bank of America was negligent because an employee should have known Valladares wasn’t a robber. The court also said jurors were improperly instructed and couldn’t simply approve the award.
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