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.
Don't confuse criminal and civil courts. Whatever happens in the criminal case is meant to address the harm done to society (cases are filed as the "people of whatever state vs Joe Blow"). Civil cases address the damages suffered by a person or entity (cases are titled along the lines of "Kramer vs Kramer"). Different courts, different purposes, different burdens of proof. In this case, liability has already been stipulated (the daughter did it) so the only thing in dispute would be damages and the right to recover them. It would seem that the pertinent state laws address the right to collect, so it would appear that the original poster is, as they say, screwed.
Think OJ...he got off on the murder rap, but that didn't stop Fred Goldman and his very attractive daughter from tying a $14 million tin can to the "Juice's" tail.
Our son's situation should have been handled in school not with the cops because the end result would have been the same less $3000!
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.
WHAT AMERICA DID YOU GROW UP IN ?
All: I will be investigating the details of the requested $200, as well as reading these informative posts, links and suggestions. My daughter has been working off this dumb decision both at home and in the community (non-ordered) ever since this happened and I've never seen a teen so willing to make up for what she did. She even asks for what more she can do so she can make up for it, financially and personally. That said, if it's something we must pay, we will do that and move on. I was just unsure of the first step to take. Thank you all so very much for your time and help. I love FR.
Your daughter didn't make a mistake, she did something on purpose. And for that she must pay. That's the way it works. She caused the problem and if for a second you have any ideas that the people she stole from are the bad guys then I suggest you need to take a breath. My view is that it would be especially bad for you to in any way let her think that you blame the store for anything because of this $200 they want. If it was me I'd make sure she knew SHE was the one that did the bad thing and make her work off the $200.
A just America. You know, the one where innocent people aren't punished for the acts of another.
Was the demand from an out-of-state law firm? As a practical matter they may be `trolling' with no intention of filing suit, hoping to frighten some into paying.
Parents can be liable for the criminal acts of their children, but if you're in Florida and they're in CA . . .
If they continue dunning you, have a lawyer send them what's called a 'Fair Debt Collection Practices' act request for verification of the alleged debt, or find it on the `net. If they aren't debt collectors (unlikely) tell them to turn it over to a debt collector so you can send the request.
Well, the America I grew up in, most kids I ever knew never did that, just one I heard of stole a 45 rpm.
Considering the total scumbags, along with help from the parents, get away with shoplifting right and left, I think they are being too hard on your daughter. She sounds like a decent girl with decent parents who just succumbed to temptation in a weak moment.
I think she has paid enough already and has learned her lesson, and I hope this is either a scam or you can find some way not to let them extort $200 out of you.
Check your state laws as to what liability parents of minors are responsible for. You can do that for free. Might take a few phone calls. I wouldn't pay any darn lawyer if I didn't have to. And I would not want to pay those other scumbags either if I didn't have to.
If this is a scam, I'd turn it over to your county attorney. I'd call there anyway, just as a place to start.
No offense intended, but please read my posts. I and my daughter do not believe for a second that anyone is the "bad guy"-never have. Again, she took COMPLETE responsibility for her actions. She took every step required to pay penance and I have been very diligent in labeling it a bad "decision" in my posts, never once calling it a "mistake" as we don't believe there was any "mistake" invloved. People make choices in life, bad and good, she wrongly chose to steal and sees first hand the results of her decision. That is one big thing parents hope for when raising their children to be responsible citizens, that they live a good, honest, decent life and take responsibilty for their own actions.
Keep us posted!
Maybe...
This episode justifies an inventory of this girl's possessions. This is fully justified by her own actions.
I believe that businesses lose billions of dollars to shoplifting every year. Most incidents of shoplifting go undetected and the shoplifters unpunished. There is some chance that this incident is not the first that the girl committed but just the first where she got caught. Her "contrition" could be a cover to avoid exposing herself to more scrutiny.
As for the $200, I can't imagine thinking that businesses can afford to do without this compensation, especially given that some percentage of the people who suffer such claims will not or cannot pay.
But I understand where you are coming from though, I can only thank the heaven above for my daughter being who she is and will be. Now, off to check links... :)
Thank you. Thank you for your kind words, as they are the truth. I really hesitate to even mention why she took the bracelet in the first place (as it has absolutely NO bearing on the facts and wrongness what.so.ever), but it was going to be given as a May holiday gift, she spent her last few dollars on a card- so, she wasn't taking it for herself. Not that means ANYTHING other than her intentions were "slightly" less selfish than one would expect.
Contact the store management (if it's a chain store, contact the corporate management). First, make sure this "collection" outfit is actually working for them. Second, if you were never sent any bill, explaining what you owed and why, it's preposterous, as well as bad PR, to turn this over to a law firm/collection agency whose first contact with you involves a threat to sue. Point this out. If the outfit actually was hired by the store/chain, the store/chain may well not realize exactly what they are doing and in what manner.
They can and will no doubt write it all off as a cost of doing business.
I don't want to argue about it. I do not condone shoplifting. Everybody's made some kind of mistake at one time or another in their lives.
I once witnessed a horror where the security guards damn near killed a shoplifter with excessive force. It will forever haunt me because I didn't intervene. For all I know they did kill her and it got hushed up. I don't know what was going on after they got her in the ambulance/fire truck (now I ought to remember that, but I can't).
I loathe shoplifting, but I loathe harsh, judgemental people just as much.
She's such a great kid and this was SO out-of-character for her that we kept quizzing her to find out what made her think she could do such a thing! You really shake your head and wonder sometimes. However, I suppose these are lessons best learned early in life...and under the protection of loving parents...rather than latter in life.
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