Blockbuster Must Pay Man $2 Million, Judge Rules

(CN) - Blockbuster's financial troubles have prompted a St. Louis judge to order the video giant to immediately pay a $2 million judgment to an area man. William J. Gibbs' attorneys filed paperwork to have Blockbuster's bank accounts garnished after reading about the company's financial troubles.

St. Louis Circuit Judge Lisa Van Amburg issued a ruling Tuesday requiring Blockbuster to bring a check for the $2 million plus 5.22 percent interest to the circuit clerk's office by 3 p.m. that day. Gibbs' lawyer, Joseph Dulle, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the circuit clerk will hold the money until the appeals process is complete.

Gibbs was charged in November 2004 with first degree robbery in connection to an armed robbery of a Blockbuster he used to work at. He was held in jail for almost six months before prosecutors dropped the charges. Gibbs sued in 2006, claiming negligence, slander and false imprisonment.

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