A good conclusion

The legal battle between Jim and Debbie Shank of Jackson and the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has garnered considerable attention around the globe. This week Wal-Mart announced it would end its effort to take money the Shanks had received as part of a $1 million lawsuit settlement with a trucking company involved in an accident that left Debbie Shank with brain damage and other injuries requiring confinement to a nursing home.

The Wal-Mart announcement came a week after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Shanks' appeal of lower-court rulings siding with Wal-Mart's claim on a large portion of the Shanks' lawsuit settlement.

Public sympathy has been clearly on the side of the Shanks throughout much of the prolonged legal proceedings. To most observers, it looked like a greedy corporate giant attempting to snatch a large sum of money from a family whose shattered lives were dealt another major blow when their son, Jeremy Shank, was killed while serving in Iraq.

While it is hard to grasp, the Wal-Mart position came down on the side of its thousands of employees who participate in the company's health-insurance plan. Under that plan, employees agree to surrender civil-lawsuit settlement proceeds to repay the insurance plan's expenses for medical treatment. Under this plan, the company pays the upfront expenses and expects to be reimbursed only if there is a separate settlement.

In the interest of protecting the financial integrity of its employees' insurance plan, the company demanded repayment of more than $469,000 after the Shanks received their settlement. The proceeds of that settlement had been divided, with some going to Jim Shank, some going to a trust fund set up for Debbie Shank's long-term care and some going for attorney's fees. The Shanks fought to keep the money.

Courts ruled in favor of Wal-Mart all along the way. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to review the case was seen as the final blow against the Shanks. Having protected the principle involved in its insurance plan's subrogation provision, the retailer relented, saying in a news release: "Occasionally others help us step back and look at a situation in a different way. This is one of those times. We have all been moved by Ms. Shank's extraordinary situation."

In addition, the company said it would review the insurance plan's rules to allow for more flexibility in deciding how to handle future cases.