In Moore v. Green’s Grocery, LLC, the Supreme Court of South Carolina affirmed the dismissal of a civil lawsuit against an employer after its employee fatally shot a customer during a workplace confrontation, a court decision that has significant implications for employers whose employees use force in the workplace.

Quick Hits

• The South Carolina Supreme Court recently held that an employer was not liable on theories of negligent hiring, supervision, or retention regarding an employee who had already been granted criminal immunity under the state’s “castle doctrine” after fatally shooting a customer during a workplace confrontation.
• The court’s reasoning centered on a critical distinction: when an employee’s use of force is determined to be lawful and justified, there is no “underlying wrongful conduct” to which any independent negligent acts of the employer could relate.
• The decision can serve as a prompt for employers to evaluate their workplace violence prevention programs.

The court held that because the employee had already been granted criminal immunity under South Carolina’s Protection of Persons and Property Act (the state’s “castle doctrine” statute), the employer could not be held civilly liable.

Background

The case arose from a September 2020 incident at Green’s Grocery in Charleston. David Wilson, a customer, entered the store to buy a phone charger. A heated confrontation ensued between Wilson and Suhib Yousef, an employee and the nephew of the store’s...

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