Actress Angie Harmon backs out of settlement with Instacart driver who killed dog

Angie Harmon as Hazel King in the Lifetime movie “Buried in Barstow.” Lifetime

ress Angie Harmon is rejecting a settlement from Instacart and the delivery driver accused of shooting and killing her family’s dog outside their Charlotte home. During a virtual hearing Tuesday morning, the lawyer for the “Rizzoli & Isles” and “Law & Order” actress said Harmon is “not in agreement” with the terms currently on the table. His announcement shocked attorneys for Instacart and delivery driver Christopher Reid. They claim Harmon agreed to a settlement in September. Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli in “Rizzoli & Isles.” Angie Harmon as Jane Rizzoli in “Rizzoli & Isles.” Doug Hyun TURNER

Harmon last May filed a filed a civil lawsuit in Mecklenburg County Superior Court against Instacart’s parent company, Maplebear Inc., and Reid. She says Reid, armed with her groceries and a gun, shot her dog while delivering under a false driver profile. Her dog, Oliver, died at the vet later that day — March 30, 2024. Angie Harmon Instacart lawsuit It was Easter weekend, and Harmon was expecting a woman named “Merle” to drop off bags of groceries at her southeast Charlotte home, Harmon wrote in a social media post in 2024. Then she heard a gunshot. Reid, a “tall and intimidating younger man,” shot Oliver while Harmon and her two daughters were home, the actress said in an Instagram post. Reid told police the dog attacked him, according to a previous police statement. He “defended himself by firing a single gunshot, striking and mortally wounding the dog,” police said. “Another dog was present at the residence but did not attack.”

“He did not have a scratch or bite on him nor were his pants torn,” Harmon said in her post. “We are completely traumatized & beyond devastated at the loss of our beloved boy & family member.”

Instacart previously said it was “deeply saddened and disturbed to hear about this incident.”

“We have no tolerance for violence of any kind, and the shopper account was immediately suspended from our platform,” it said in a statement. “We have been in direct contact with the customer and are cooperating with law enforcement on their investigation.”

In her lawsuit complaint, Harmon alleges trespassing, negligence, invasion of privacy and emotional distress from both Reid and Maplebear. In May 2024, she was seeking more than $25,000 in damages.

Instacart dog shooting settlement

While Harmon’s lawyer, John Buric, says the actress is refusing to settle, lawyers for Instacart and its driver wonder how that can be.

Thomas Hooper and William Robinson — lawyers for Instacart and Reid, respectively — insist the civil lawsuit Harmon filed last May was settled in September. But after Harmon, Reid and Instacart agreed on a settlement, Buric became unreachable, they said.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Buric said he and Harmon were “going back and forth on various pieces of the language.”

He also said he plans to withdraw as Harmon’s attorney soon.

This story was originally published May 20, 2025 at 1:36 PM.