By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-07-25 00:57:04 | Updated at 2026-07-28 14:21:29
3 days ago
A Georgia doctor has claimed in a lawsuit that she was 'violated' and manhandled by two Nordstrom employees after they falsely accused her of shoplifting.
Dr Naomi Black, a licensed Atlanta counselor, alleged two employees wrongfully branded her a shoplifter while she was buying clothes for a July 2025 vacation to Bali, according to a lawsuit obtained by WSB-TV News.
She claimed that as she headed for the exit with a shopping bag in hand, two women intercepted her, forcibly shoved her through the store and physically detained her without ever explaining why.
The ordeal ended only after one employee allegedly admitted Black had been mistaken for another shopper and released her, according to the filing.
'I felt violated and I also felt fear,' the doctor told WSB. 'What they did to me was unacceptable.'
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, seeks unspecified damages from Nordstrom, alleging its workers acted negligently when they stopped Black from leaving the store and confined her to a private room for questioning.
The department store has 30 days after being served to respond to the allegations.
Black detailed the alleged ordeal she says unfolded last July while she shopped at the Nordstrom inside Perimeter Mall for last-minute preparations ahead of her tropical overseas getaway.
Dr Naomi Black, a licensed counselor in Atlanta, Georgia, filed a lawsuit against Nordstrom alleging she was 'violated' by employees after they falsely accused her of shoplifting
The lawsuit, filed earlier this month, claims the incident unfolded in July 2025 at the Nordstrom inside Perimeter Mall as Black shopped for an upcoming trip to Bali
She claims she was just steps from the exit with her purchases in hand when two women suddenly approached her and said, 'Ma'am, you can't leave the store,' according to WSB-TV.
The complaint alleges the women never identified themselves as Nordstrom staff or loss prevention employees and refused to explain why they were stopping Black from walking out the doors and continuing on her way.
'I kept wondering in my head, what did I do wrong?' the doctor recalled.
Black said the encounter then turned physical, with one employee allegedly grabbing her arm while the other pushed her through multiple levels of the store, according to the filing.
'I told her, do not touch me,' Black told WSB.
The women allegedly took Black to a private room, where they continued to dodge her repeated questions about why she had been stopped and ignored her demands for a simple explanation.
'I noticed that there were a pair of handcuffs on the table,' she said.
The reason soon became clear when the employees searched her shopping bag. However, they found no stolen merchandise or evidence of any theft, according to the lawsuit.
Black said the encounter turned physical just steps from the exit, when one employee allegedly grabbed her arm and another pushed her through the store and into a private room
Black's attorney, Candace Atlas of the Davis Bozeman Johnson Law Firm, said under Georgia law, retailers may detain suspected shoplifters only when they have reasonable grounds to believe a theft has occurred
Still seeking answers, Black told the outlet she confronted the employees again, asking: 'I'm gonna ask you again, why did you accuse me of shoplifting?'
An employee soon admitted they had detained the wrong person, according to court documents.
'She's like, "Oh, we just thought that you looked like someone else,"' Black told WSB-TV.
Black said she was finally released without so much as an apology from either woman.
Her attorney, Candace Atlas of the Davis Bozeman Johnson Law Firm, explained that under Georgia law, retailers may detain suspected shoplifters only when they have reasonable grounds to believe a theft has occurred.
'We don't believe any of those circumstances or those requirements were met in this circumstance,' Atlas told the outlet.
Black's lawsuit also alleges that the employees involved gave her a false name for a store manager.
In addition to damages, the filing calls for changes to Nordstrom's employee training policies to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Nordstrom, Nordstrom Perimeter Mall Store Manager Stephanie Cole and Attorney Candace Atlas for comment.
