Sydney Tag Heuer store loses in court

3.6 k views | Posted October 08, 2010 | By Lorna Goodyer

An intellectually disabled man and his carer have won a court battle against Tag Heuer owner LVMH after being arrested on suspicion of robbery when they visited Tag’s Sydney store.

Staff at the store on King Street pressed the hold-up button, sending three police cars racing to the shop, because they believed the pair looked suspicious, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Aaron Oddie had been taken to the store because he wanted to buy a watch. His carer Michael Lassanah was reportedly not given a chance to tell his side of the story, with one police officer saying, “If you want to tell your side of the story, I think you should say it in court.”

However, District Court judge Judith Gibson said, ''The police were in a very difficult position, with the staff of the shop having pressed the hold-up button and insisting that the plaintiffs had attempted to rob the store.''

Oddie and Lassanah took LVMH Watch and Jewellery Australia to court, where they were awarded $40,000 and $30,000 respectively for false imprisonment and defamation.

The shop owner apologised to the pair in court, saying ''now that we have become aware of the nature of [Mr Oddie's] disability, his perceived behaviour has been placed in its proper context".

More reading: Sydney Morning Herald.