Posted on 07/26/2005 10:23:52 AM PDT by Flipyaforreal
I hope this is not out of order to post this, but Freepers (and I have been a proud one for almost 4 years) are the first people I thought of to ask for their opinions regarding a possible lawsuit I may face soon. Simply put, my (good student, NEVER been in trouble before) 14 yr old daughter was caught stealing a $10 bracelet from a cheap mall jewelers in May. The merchandise was immediately retrieved by the store, they called the police and had her handcuffed, arrested, fingerprinted-the whole deal. The store pressed charges and we made the court appearance, et al. She was extremely remorseful, accepted FULL responsibilty from the minute she was caught, and understands that she made a VERY stupid decision to do what she did. She was scared to death and, without a doubt, won't be doing anything like that again.
I have now received a "letter" from a collection agency/law firm that is threatening a civil suit under a FL civil remedies statute (772.11). In this form "letter", they offered to "settle" for $200 and if payment is not made, they say they'll review the case for following through with the suit.
My question is, since the merchandise (all $10 worth) was immediately recovered, the store lost no business at the time as the staff continued to work, my daughter was fully arrested, processed and is doing everything needed to serve her penance, how should I handle this? I was going to put together a letter back to them stating that the store suffered no loss and, considering the facts above in this case, it's damn ridiculous to threaten this possible suit. I was so angry upon the receipt of the "letter", that I even considered telling them that if they somehow follow through with their suit, I will countersue.
But before I go off writing anything, I wanted to pose the question here, to my fellow Freepers, since we have some of the most knowledgable people that I know of here. Thanks in advance for any help/opinions.
I used to work as a security supervisor for a drug store chain here in Ohio. We would typically defer criminal prosecution in favor of civil litigation because we were allowed to file for a minimum of $125 in damages. It's been a while (close to 20 years) but IIRC, the rationale did not take the amount of item pilfered into account. It was based on our economic loss (the cost of having me or one of my "goons" on hand, the cost of filing paperwork, etc..).
The problem on your end would appear to be the admission of guilt on your part. They just have to show some justification for the $200 demand and you are sunk.
Glad to see your daughter learned a valuable lesson at a young age. I say you should pay the $200 and move on. If it weren't for theft, the cost of security in these stores would be much less. It looks to me like the store is trying to pass along the cost of security to the security risks instead of their customers........
Liability for actions by a Minor, I'm presuming
First, I want to state that I'm NOT a lawyer, and I know nothing about FLA law. This being said, the letter you received sounds like extortion to me. I would verify that the "collection agency/law firm" really represents the store that your daughter shoplifted from. This sounds a lot like a scam to me.
They probably send a letter like this to everyone arrested for shoplifting. And a lot of people probably pay the $200 just to be done with it. Nice work if you can get it, eh?
If I were in your shoes, I'd check this with another lawyer. That may cost more than than the requested $200 but at least you'll know the truth.
Oh, and don't forget to have your daughter deeply involved in this. IMHO, she should pay any costs.
Sounds like this may be the best defense:
"by clear and convincing evidence that he or she has been injured in any fashion..."
What's the injury?
Looks like the short answer is to pay it and write "Paid in full" on the "For" line.
In our retail store we had a customer write a bad check for a $900 gold necklace, my husband pressed charges & the Prosecutor's Office took him to court. He was found guilty and went to jail. (he stiffed several other stores in town) We never saw the $900 or the necklace again, but he is doing time.
In Kaleefornia, if you are going to be sued, you must receive a formal notification, and it is served by a process server. Other than that, I would demand documentation first. If the offer is a scam, you can try filing a criminal complaint. The U.S. Mail was used so it can be a Federal issue now.
That's not the law in Florida, though (or most other places).
IIRC, the money is suppose to help pay for the cost of security the store/mall incurs.
The court cost thing occured to me also, but it was a mass docket court showing and the store had no lawyer present. I have no idea how that works, so again, just looking for suggestions.
Thanks for all the great links, I will be searching and reading them!
Call the store manager or even the store HQ legal dept. Talk with them about this. If it's not a scam, maybe everything call be taken care with a phone call.
What I don't get is why people (in this case the parents) who did nothing wrong would be liable for anything. That's not the America I grew up in.
But isn’t that part of the judgment?
Or is this just part “B” where they send the demand as step one to a civil/small-claims/whatever suit if you don't pay it...
I have been in this spot.....advice is: Pay whatever the amount with a contract between you and your daughter that she owes the money AND IT MUST COME FROM HER.....IT MUST COME FROM HER SWEAT. 14 is a better time than 20 to learn that shop lifting is robbery.
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