TILTON, N.H. (AP) -- A widow whose husband suffered a fatal heart attack at the Wal-Mart where he worked is suing the company, claiming it did not have the right to take out a life insurance policy on him.
Michael Rice, 48, was an assistant manager at the Tilton Wal-Mart when he collapsed three years ago after helping a customer carry a television to her car. When he died seven days later, Wal-Mart collected at least $325,000 from the policy.
Vicki Rice, who now lives in Bangor, Maine, is suing Wal-Mart in U.S. District Court in Concord, arguing that the money rightfully belongs to her.
`They used Mike terribly,` she said. `They abused him, working him like that ... And then they go out and collect $300,000? It`s very immoral.`
Corporations commonly take out life insurance policies on key officers and directors, but during the 1990s, Wal-Mart and other companies bought life insurance policies on more than 350,000 employees in an effort to save money on taxes.
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