I am a teen counselor for a Southern California city school district. One of my kids (16yrs)recently was stopped at a retailer for allegedly shoplifting. Police arrived and returned to the store all merchandise in undamaged resellable condition. There was some confusion over what had occurred so the police did not cite nor arrest this child.
The childs mother is in prison and the father is homeless. She currently resides with an Aunt. (not a legal guardian) The lawyers for the retailer sent a letter to the childs parents requesting a payment of $ 500 as a civil penalty. The child is not employed and diligently working hard to improve her life by way of education. The child wants to do the right thing but cannot obtain $ 500 to pay the law firm.
My question is: If there was no stolen or damaged property and no citations were given how likely can it be proven that the retailer has been "Injured" as the law states?
Can the law firm for the retailer pursue legal options against this child? and how likely are they to do this rather than forgive the incident?
The childs mother is in prison and the father is homeless. She currently resides with an Aunt. (not a legal guardian) The lawyers for the retailer sent a letter to the childs parents requesting a payment of $ 500 as a civil penalty. The child is not employed and diligently working hard to improve her life by way of education. The child wants to do the right thing but cannot obtain $ 500 to pay the law firm.
My question is: If there was no stolen or damaged property and no citations were given how likely can it be proven that the retailer has been "Injured" as the law states?
Can the law firm for the retailer pursue legal options against this child? and how likely are they to do this rather than forgive the incident?