Phipps Plaza Carjacking Victim Sues Mall, Security Company

The woman who was brutally beaten in the course of a carjacking in the Phipps Plaza parking lot in early August is suing the mall and its affiliated security company for unspecified damages.

Just after midnight on Aug. 4, Michelle Wing was returning to her car from the Twist Restaurant and Tapas Bar in Buckhead’s Phipps Plaza shopping mall when she was accosted by two black males, now thought to be 17-year-olds Steve Spinger and Ethan Gathright.

The two then proceeded to attack Wing, beating her to the ground while demanding the keys to her 2007 silver BMW 5 Series. One of the assailants allegedly threatened to “f***ing shoot” Wing if she did not comply.

Spinger and Gathright are now in jail, but Wing suffered significant facial injuries and has filed suit against Phipps Plaza’s owners CPI-Phipps and their associated security company, Allied Barton Security Co. for unspecified damages on Tuesday.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Wing’s suit claims that Allied Barton security guards were inadequately trained and also claims that CPI-Phipps and Allied Barton either knew that criminals were patrolling the Phipps Plaza parking lot or that they should have known and alerted customers to the situation.

Wing’s lawsuit is seeking damages for lost wages, medical bills, and “loss of enjoyment of life.”