Widow Of Cintas Worker Wants Evidence Unsealed

JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The widow of a Cintas Corp. worker who fell into an industrial dryer and died in 2007 wants a federal judge to unseal for public viewing more than 90 percent of the evidence in her lawsuit against the nation's largest uniform supplier.

Amalia Diaz Torres claims in a motion filed last week that the Cincinnati-based company is abusing the court's protective order by marking much of the case evidence as "confidential," forcing key documents and depositions to be blacked out — allegations a company spokeswoman denied Monday.

Both sides agreed to the protective order when the case began, but Torres' attorneys now accuse Cintas of misusing it to "manipulate a favorable but misleading publicity campaign ... and drive up the costs and burdens of litigation unnecessarily," the 10-page motion claims.

"Cintas has further taken advantage of this situation by obtaining favorable media coverage ... and relying on its misuse of the court's protective order to keep the public from hearing the complete story."

Company spokeswoman Heather Maley called the allegations in the motion "preposterous" Monday, and said that worker safety has long been a top priority at the company.