Wrongful death lawsuit accuses Cracker Barrel of negligence in 2012 triple-murder

Print

By James F. McCarty, The Plain Dealer The Plain Dealer
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on October 11, 2013 at 12:25 PM, updated October 11, 2013 at 1:44 PM

Email

View/Post Comments

View full sizeKatherina Allen with her 10-year-old daughters Kayla, left, and Kerri.Plain Dealer file photo

CLEVELAND, OHIO -  Good Samaritans typically receive praise and sometimes awards, but were the employees of a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Brooklyn negligent for failing to help a woman and her two daughters before the three were shot to death during a domestic dispute in April 2012?
That is the allegation contained in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the woman's brother Thursday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
Kevin and Katherina Allen of Strongsville were sharing a birthday dinner at the restaurant on Tiedeman Road with their daughters, Kerri and Kayla, when the girls’ mother informed their father that she was leaving him, according to police reports.
The scene turned chaotic after Kevin Allen threatened to kill them all, and left the restaurant, said attorney Terry Gilbert, who is representing Carl Jindra of Brunswick, Katherina Allen’s brother.

View full sizeKevin AllenPlain Dealer file photo 

During the five minutes of terror that ensued, Katherina Allen called a friend and police, and begged the Cracker Barrel’s manager to allow the mother and daughters to hide in the restaurant’s walk-in cooler, Gilbert said.
But the manager refused the request, responding: “We don't get involved in domestic disputes," Gilbert said.
Kevin Allen, 51, returned with a shotgun and fired fatal blasts at his wife, 42, and 10-year-old daughters, who were hiding in a restroom. Brooklyn police officers shot and killed the gunman. It was Kerri’s birthday.
Gilbert said the woman and her daughters were left to fend for themselves in a panicked atmosphere.
“If somebody is having a heart attack in the restaurant, do they not provide CPR?” Gilbert said. “What startled me the most about this situation was that there was no response at all from the employees to their cries for help.”
Gilbert continued: “It’s easy to look back and say they should have done this or they should have done that. But these are situations that are foreseeable. There are security protocols that have been in place for years by these big restaurant chains. They could have taken steps to possibly prevent this disaster.”

Do you think Cracker Barrel shares any blame in the fatal shootings?

YesNo

VoteView Results

Spokeswoman Jeanne Ludington issued a prepared statement from Cracker Barrel’s national headquarters in Lebanon, Tenn.:
“The tragic events that took place in our Brooklyn, Ohio, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store in April 2012 deeply saddened the Allen family, the community, our employees, and our company” Ludington said. “Although we cannot comment on the lawsuit that was filed on October 10, 2013, we believe that in times of difficulty, families and communities come together, and we are grateful to the Brooklyn community for their continued support and acts of kindness.”
In the lawsuit, Jindra, the executor of his sister’s estate, claims that Cracker Barrel is obligated to protect its customers, and was negligent for failing to protect Katherina Allen and her daughters.
Jindra is seeking more than $25,000, plus punitive damages designed to punish the restaurant chain for its alleged wrongs.