ISSAQUAH, WA--(Marketwire - September 29, 2010) - Costco Wholesale Corporation ("Costco" or the "Company") (
On July 10, 2010, Erik Scott died tragically at the Costco Wholesale warehouse in Summerlin, Nevada, as a result of shots fired by Metro Police.
Costco has consistently refrained from any public comment in connection with the incident because of its belief that it was not appropriate for the Company to respond to questions or to allegations while the official investigation was pending. Instead, the Company cooperated fully with the proper legal authorities, including making available any and all witnesses and any other evidence that may shed light on the events on that date. Maintaining our silence has been difficult because we have the greatest sympathy for the family of Erik Scott, which has suffered a great loss in his untimely death. Although we have been the target of many unfair and unjustified allegations concerning our role in this tragic incident, we remain sympathetic to the friends and family of Mr. Scott, and deeply regret that his death occurred at our facility.
Yesterday, the testimony concluded in the official inquest proceeding, and the jury returned its verdict. We are aware of comments made to the media by an attorney for the family indicating that they intend to file suit against Costco, alleging that the Company was somehow at fault. Since the inquest was an open, televised proceeding, we will simply ask that fair-minded people draw their own conclusions about what happened and why it happened based on the evidence before the inquest jurors and based upon the verdict of that jury. At all times, our primary concern and responsibility is for the safety of our members and employees while on our premises, and our actions on July 10 were motivated solely by that responsibility.
We are making this statement now because the official inquest has concluded, and because we have been advised that friends and family of Mr. Scott plan to protest in Summerlin this week, demanding that Costco terminate the employment of one or more of our employees who played a role in the events on that date. Such actions can only be intended to inflame public sentiment in connection with planned litigation, and have no reasonable relationship to the cause of Mr. Scott's untimely death. We intend to vigorously resist any use of our private property by anyone for this purpose, and will apply to the court for relief if any such threatened trespass is attempted.
Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions including exchange rates, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (including health care and workers' compensation costs), rising costs associated with the acquisition of merchandise (including the direct and indirect effects of the rising cost of petroleum-based products and fuel and energy costs), geopolitical conditions and other risks identified from time to time in the Company's public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact Information:
CONTACTS:
Costco Wholesale Corporation
Joel Benoliel
425/313-8193