falsely accused and detained at a big corportate store for shoplifting

[co7i17l]

What is the name of your state? Hawaii

hello all, i need a bit of legal advice if anyone can so help me...

my girlfriend and i were shopping at _____. we went into a dressing room with three pairs of shorts. on the door knob of the dressing room was a tshirt hanging. my girlfriend took the shirt and put it on a rack outside so we could actually close the door. we ended up purchasing a pair of shorts and a sweater. as we left the store, two "loss prevention" agents came running out after us, grabbed our shoulders, flashed us a badge, and said "follow us, we're detaining you for shoplifting."

we were both shocked, but we complied. during the LONG walk to their back room, we asked "what did we take" and they answered "we'll talk about it in the office." i replied "no sir, i would really like to know what we did wrong." to which the "agent" said "i said we can talk about it in the office, do you understand sir?" well, we get to the office, they take my girlfriend's purse, shopping bag, my keys, and my cellphone. they detain both of us in a holding room. my girlfriend freaks out and pounds on the door and they let her out. they ask her to take off her jacket, but not strip down, to which she complies. they find nothing. they come in and pat me down, and find nothing. at this point, i hear them harassing my girlfriend about the "shirt that we stole." she tells them her story and they continue pressing on with "don't lie to us. we know you have it. where did you put it." they continue on with this for another 5 minutes till my girlfriend breaks down and cries all the while i'm in the holding room. they come back in, pat me down again, and even looks inside of my shorts to find the shirt. we were in there for about 10-15 minutes i believe but i couldn't tell since there was no clock and i did not have my phone on me. we were then told we were free to leave with no apology. we walk around the mall some more til my girlfriend just couldn't take it. we head back to the store and talk to the head of security. he apologized for a little bit and then asked his agents to come apologize as well. the agents, anybody could definitely tell, did not want to admit they were wrong or apologize, but they did say sorry in a very insincere way. we then leave the store and we called _____ up today. they offered us a $100 gift card to which we said no because that was just plain ridiculous what they did to us. anything else i can do besides threatening to leak this story to the press? is what they did legal? do i have a case here? any advice would be appreciated. thanks in advance.

 

[LegalBaby]

Not an attorney here...but WOW!

What would you ask for through litigation? Money? Public exposure of the store that did this? (Could you PM me the store name so I know not to shop there? A Boycott is in order!)

If all you want is money, send (FAX) a serious letter of complaint to their corporate office. On the letter address it also to the State Corporation Commission, State Attorney General, BBB and Police Department. They WILL respond and if they are smart they'll offer you some cash for you troubles..more than a measly 100 bucks....I would think.

If you want to expose them publicly, call CNN, FOX, CBS, NBC, ABC, and MTV too. (LOL)

But it all depends on what you want out of them. If you file a complaint, those employees could face termination which would be very satisfying (to me anyway).

 

[outonbail]

they offered us a $100 gift card to which we said no because that was just plain
ridiculous what they did to us

Actually, the gift card was a fairly generous offer, considering that you were only inconvenienced for 10 to 15 minutes. This would work out to around $400.00 to $600.00 per hour, which divided by two, would still work out to $200.00 to $300.00 an hour each. I don't know what either of you earn, so I don't know if this would be a cut in pay for you.

anything else i can do besides threatening to leak this story to the press?

"Threatening" is too hostile. You would appear less aggressive to “inform” them of your plans to warn the public how, by simply shopping at this establishment, they risk experiencing the same unpleasantness as you were inconvenienced by.

But if I were in your shoes, I’d have to go with the $100.00.

is what they did legal?

If your referring to their request for you to accompany them to their office, so they could investigate the belief that one of you had shoplifted merchandise, the answer is yes. In fact, it is their responsibility, it is what they are paid to do.
Now if your referring to the fact that they were wrong in their belief that one of you had shoplifted this shirt, then the answer is still yes, what they did was legal. They obviously made a mistake, but making a mistake and doing something illegal are not the same.

do i have a case here?

What kind of case were you hoping for? Since they didn’t break any laws you can’t have them arrested. If your referring to a Civil case, then yes, you can always file a civil action against them, or just about anyone for that matter. But if the incident happened just as you described in your post, you wouldn’t win a judgment. So I would consider it a waste of time and money. Don’t you? If you were so put out by the 10 to 15 minutes of questioning by these people, how are you going to deal with four or five hours in court?

See the thing is, loss prevention were mistaken about the shirt, but their belief wasn’t malicious, wasn’t intentional, wasn’t outrageous and given the circumstances, was actually a logical supposition. After all, their assumption that you were responsible for the shirt disappearing was correct. But it was moved to a rack, not removed from the store.

They obviously can’t keep customers they are watching in their sight 100% of the time, so on occasion, this sort of thing does happen. So, they can justify their belief that the shirt was taken and that they acted in good faith. They also followed procedure when they lead you to a private office for questioning. Where, in roughly ten minutes time, they realized their mistake and released you. This is pretty fast if you ask me. Now I’m sure they were not happy with the fact that they were wrong. It was a waste of time for them as well.

So what damages were suffered because of this understandable mistake? I realize your girlfriend was upset, but tears will not earn any awards from the court.

I also don’t believe any major media stations will find your situation newsworthy. I know it wouldn’t rate any air time in Los Angeles, but, maybe your island’s local news will jump on it, who knows.

So when you consider the innocence of the mistake, the short time you were delayed while they sorted it out, the fact that they did apologize, (sincerely or not) and the fact that the time and money you will spend filing a civil claim will all be wasted, since there’s no chance of seeing any monetary judgment being granted,,, doesn’t it begin to look like accepting their good will offer to provide you with a $100.00 gift card as being your best choice?

 

[panther10758]

Take the $100.00 gift card and use at another store location. Any Civil action will be very time cosuming. The Math was already done for you. Leaking story to press "may" get 5 minutes on 6 o clock news then fade away and you will get nothing take the gift card! Let me add this will very likely cost these LPO's their jobs and with good cause so its win win for you

 

[co7i17l]

Actually, the gift card was a fairly generous offer, considering that you were only inconvenienced for 10 to 15 minutes. This would work out to around $400.00 to $600.00 per hour, which divided by two, would still work out to $200.00 to $300.00 an hour each. I don't know what either of you earn, so I don't know if this would be a cut in pay for you.


"Threatening" is too hostile. You would appear less aggressive to “inform” them of your plans to warn the public how, by simply shopping at this establishment, they risk experiencing the same unpleasantness as you were inconvenienced by.

But if I were in your shoes, I’d have to go with the $100.00.


If your referring to their request for you to accompany them to their office, so they could investigate the belief that one of you had shoplifted merchandise, the answer is yes. In fact, it is their responsibility, it is what they are paid to do.
Now if your referring to the fact that they were wrong in their belief that one of you had shoplifted this shirt, then the answer is still yes, what they did was legal. They obviously made a mistake, but making a mistake and doing something illegal are not the same.


What kind of case were you hoping for? Since they didn’t break any laws you can’t have them arrested. If your referring to a Civil case, then yes, you can always file a civil action against them, or just about anyone for that matter. But if the incident happened just as you described in your post, you wouldn’t win a judgment. So I would consider it a waste of time and money. Don’t you? If you were so put out by the 10 to 15 minutes of questioning by these people, how are you going to deal with four or five hours in court?

See the thing is, loss prevention were mistaken about the shirt, but their belief wasn’t malicious, wasn’t intentional, wasn’t outrageous and given the circumstances, was actually a logical supposition. After all, their assumption that you were responsible for the shirt disappearing was correct. But it was moved to a rack, not removed from the store.

They obviously can’t keep customers they are watching in their sight 100% of the time, so on occasion, this sort of thing does happen. So, they can justify their belief that the shirt was taken and that they acted in good faith. They also followed procedure when they lead you to a private office for questioning. Where, in roughly ten minutes time, they realized their mistake and released you. This is pretty fast if you ask me. Now I’m sure they were not happy with the fact that they were wrong. It was a waste of time for them as well.

So what damages were suffered because of this understandable mistake? I realize your girlfriend was upset, but tears will not earn any awards from the court.

I also don’t believe any major media stations will find your situation newsworthy. I know it wouldn’t rate any air time in Los Angeles, but, maybe your island’s local news will jump on it, who knows.

So when you consider the innocence of the mistake, the short time you were delayed while they sorted it out, the fact that they did apologize, (sincerely or not) and the fact that the time and money you will spend filing a civil claim will all be wasted, since there’s no chance of seeing any monetary judgment being granted,,, doesn’t it begin to look like accepting their good will offer to provide you with a $100.00 gift card as being your best choice?

well now that i look deeper into it, we were detained for well over 15 minutes. our receipt at the store was printed at exactly 2:22 pm. granted it then took us a very generous 8 minutes to get out of the store, we were detained immediately thereafter. my friend called my cell phone at exactly 2:44 pm while i was still in the detention room. i called him right back when we were released at 3:00 pm. i've been told detention starts at the moment we are confronted, and also...

"The detention itself may be only for the period of time necessary for reasonable investigation (usually very short) and must be conducted in a reasonable manner. US courts have found that it may be only for 10 and never longer than 15 minutes."

granted that is only from wikipedia.com, obviously not the most reputable site on the net, it does make sense.

 

[outonbail]

well now that i look deeper into it, we were detained for well over 15 minutes.

Now you've looked deeper into it? So you've discovered another 5 minutes,,,, tell me, how deep will it eventually get?

"The detention itself may be only for the period of time necessary for reasonable investigation (usually very short)

Making adjustments to your original details, subsequent to representing them as true and accurate facts, is a foundation for failure. Remember, advice will only be as accurate as the facts which were weighed, in order to arrive at that advice.
I only bring this up because, I will never understand why people hand over their hard earned money to an attorney, then provide a tainted rendition of the plight they seek help with. In the end they blame the attorney, judge, jury and entire legal system for losing their slam dunk case.
So if you ever find yourself in a position that requires legal counsel, be sure to provide accurate information and include all the details, even the one’s that cast any shadow of doubt on your claimed position, right from the start. Do the digging before you report the treasure.
Anyway, in this case you haven’t forked over any earnings and your fact bending efforts haven’t dug up anything which will alter your position whatsoever. The court isn’t going to rule that ten minutes was reasonable, but fifteen is outrageous. Now if you were locked in there over night, you might have something.

and must be conducted in a reasonable manner.

A reasonable manner would include looking for merchandise concealed in your girlfriends purse, shopping bag and coat.

Now if they did a cavity search, claiming they wanted to be sure she wasn’t concealing merchandise inside an orifice, that said merchandise obviously wouldn’t fit, you could then meet the definition of unreasonable.

Do yourself a favor,,,,, take the $100.00 and treat your girlfriend to something nice, you’ll feel much better.

 

[jgargano03]

Now you've looked deeper into it? So you've discovered another 5 minutes,,,, tell me, how deep will it eventually get?


Making adjustments to your original details, subsequent to representing them as true and accurate facts, is a foundation for failure. Remember, advice will only be as accurate as the facts which were weighed, in order to arrive at that advice.
I only bring this up because, I will never understand why people hand over their hard earned money to an attorney, then provide a tainted rendition of the plight they seek help with. In the end they blame the attorney, judge, jury and entire legal system for losing their slam dunk case.
So if you ever find yourself in a position that requires legal counsel, be sure to provide accurate information and include all the details, even the one’s that cast any shadow of doubt on your claimed position, right from the start. Do the digging before you report the treasure.
Anyway, in this case you haven’t forked over any earnings and your fact bending efforts haven’t dug up anything which will alter your position whatsoever. The court isn’t going to rule that ten minutes was reasonable, but fifteen is outrageous. Now if you were locked in there over night, you might have something.


A reasonable manner would include looking for merchandise concealed in your girlfriends purse, shopping bag and coat.

Now if they did a cavity search, claiming they wanted to be sure she wasn’t concealing merchandise inside an orifice, that said merchandise obviously wouldn’t fit, you could then meet the definition of unreasonable.

Do yourself a favor,,,,, take the $100.00 and treat your girlfriend to something nice, you’ll feel much better.

What about the false inprisonment she experienced when the security officer locked her in a room and she was screaming...?

 

[The Occultist]

What about the false inprisonment she experienced when the security officer locked her in a room and she was screaming...?

Alright, you've already been told multiple times that you're not gonna get the answer you're looking for. You already told us about her being locked up and screaming, so bringing it up again isn't going to change the advice you were given. You have two options now: take the advice you've already been given, or go ahead and try to find a lawyer willing to take your case. Good luck finding one who will take you on a contingency basis.

 

[jgargano03]

Alright, you've already been told multiple times that you're not gonna get the answer you're looking for. You already told us about her being locked up and screaming, so bringing it up again isn't going to change the advice you were given. You have two options now: take the advice you've already been given, or go ahead and try to find a lawyer willing to take your case. Good luck finding one who will take you on a contingency basis.

I'm not the one who asked the initial question but I was curious about what type of legal recourse they would have for false imprisonment.

Investigation on or near premises: The detention itself must be effected either on the store premises or in the immediate vicinity thereof. A majority of courts state that the privilege to detain is lost once they leave the store's property. US Courts do allow shopkeepers to chase after the person to recapture their lost merchandise, but not detain, when they are in "fresh pursuit." The investigation must be to determine ownership of the property, not to force a confession.

if you remember they said that they had already left the shop in question after they paid for the clothing items. They had a right to chase after them but not detain them against their will.

Reasonable period and manner of detention: The detention itself may be only for the period of time necessary for reasonable investigation (usually very short) and must be conducted in a reasonable manner. US courts have found that it may be only for 10 and never longer than 15 minutes.

didn't he mention that he was detained well over 30 minutes?

The privilege for the most part is to be able to return the stolen goods by determining ownership. The shopkeeper may not force a confession. They do have a right to conduct a contemporaneous search of the person and the objects within that person's control

They were trying to force a confession from his girlfriend..

Reasonable force only: reasonable, nondeadly force may be used to effect the detention. Use of force is justified when the suspect is in immediate flight or violently resists detention. They may not handcuff a customer, lie them on the ground, sit them on the ground or not allow them to look for a receipt. Credibility and contradictory testimony is for a fact finder, i.e. a jury or judge to determine. Doing so is evidence to support damages of false imprisonment, and even gross negligence if the conduct involved exposed the customer to an extreme risk of substantial harm, which would allow an award of exemplary damages.

This is debatable in court...

My advice for you is to call up a lawyer in your state, and it's quite possible that you have a lawsuit expecially if he/she is a really good tort attorney.

 

[outonbail]

Yeah, call a really good tort attorney and hand him 30K to get the ball rolling

I'm not the one who asked the initial question but I was curious about what type of legal recourse they would have for false imprisonment.

None whatsoever

Investigation on or near premises: The detention itself must be effected either on the store premises or in the immediate vicinity thereof. A majority of courts state that the privilege to detain is lost once they leave the store's property.
US Courts do allow shopkeepers to chase after the person to recapture their lost merchandise, but not detain, when they are in "fresh pursuit." The investigation must be to determine ownership of the property, not to force a confession.
if you remember they said that they had already left the shop in question after they paid for the clothing items. They had a right to chase after them but not detain them against their will.

The OP did not leave the store's property. His post clearly states, "as we left the store" which I interpret as being in the vicinity of the actual store itself and certainly still on the property. Considering that the store's property would include a parking lot the size of several football fields, I doubt the OP ever left the property. So your statement, "leaving the shop in question" does not qualify as leaving the property.

Reasonable period and manner of detention: The detention itself may be only for the period of time necessary for reasonable investigation (usually very short) and must be conducted in a reasonable manner. US courts have found that it may be only for 10 and never longer than 15 minutes.

didn't he mention that he was detained well over 30 minutes?

His time formula is a bit confusing and he's using the time on the store receipt as his starting point and a call from his phone as his ending point, which is not a reliable method for splitting hairs. Your also missing another very important fact. They complied with the request to go to the security office. So I don't see any false imprisonment or forced detention on the part of the store security. As soon as his girlfriend began her hysterics, they let her out of the door. So if the time she was actually behind a locked door could be considered, detained against her will, how long did that last, five minutes?

The privilege for the most part is to be able to return the stolen goods by determining ownership. The shopkeeper may not force a confession. They do have a right to conduct a contemporaneous search of the person and the objects within that person's control

Which they did.

They were trying to force a confession from his girlfriend

Good luck with proving that in court.

Reasonable force only: reasonable, nondeadly force may be used to effect the detention. Use of force is justified when the suspect is in immediate flight or violently resists detention. They may not handcuff a customer, lie them on the ground, sit them on the ground or not allow them to look for a receipt. Credibility and contradictory testimony is for a fact finder, i.e. a jury or judge to determine. Doing so is evidence to support damages of false imprisonment, and even gross negligence if the conduct involved exposed the customer to an extreme risk of substantial harm, which would allow an award of exemplary damages.

This is debatable in court...

This is a laughable opinion, by someone who hasn't got a clue as to what the heck he's talking about.

My advice for you is to call up a lawyer in your state, and it's quite possible that you have a lawsuit expecially if he/she is a really good tort attorney.

Try to find an attorney who has practiced in Walt Disney's "Fantasy Land"

 

[jgargano03]

Yeah, call a really good tort attorney and hand him 30K to get the ball rolling


None whatsoever


The OP did not leave the store's property. His post clearly states, "as we left the store" which I interpret as being in the vicinity of the actual store itself and certainly still on the property. Considering that the store's property would include a parking lot the size of several football fields, I doubt the OP ever left the property. So your statement, "leaving the shop in question" does not qualify as leaving the property.

Reasonable period and manner of detention: The detention itself may be only for the period of time necessary for reasonable investigation (usually very short) and must be conducted in a reasonable manner. US courts have found that it may be only for 10 and never longer than 15 minutes.

His time formula is a bit confusing and he's using the time on the store receipt as his starting point and a call from his phone as his ending point, which is not a reliable method for splitting hairs. Your also missing another very important fact. They complied with the request to go to the security office. So I don't see any false imprisonment or forced detention on the part of the store security. As soon as his girlfriend began her hysterics, they let her out of the door. So if the time she was actually behind a locked door could be considered, detained against her will, how long did that last, five minutes?

Which they did.


Good luck with proving that in court.

Reasonable force only: reasonable, nondeadly force may be used to effect the detention. Use of force is justified when the suspect is in immediate flight or violently resists detention. They may not handcuff a customer, lie them on the ground, sit them on the ground or not allow them to look for a receipt. Credibility and contradictory testimony is for a fact finder, i.e. a jury or judge to determine. Doing so is evidence to support damages of false imprisonment, and even gross negligence if the conduct involved exposed the customer to an extreme risk of substantial harm, which would allow an award of exemplary damages.


This is a laughable opinion, by someone who hasn't got a clue as to what the heck he's talking about.


Try to find an attorney who has practiced in Walt Disney's "Fantasy Land"

I went on Loislaw.com and found precident which was very similar, and they won the lawsuit... Ultimately, it's up to the jury, and the perponderance of the evidence.

 

[Qtip]

I read about a similar situation at a large department store where a woman was accused of stealing an item that she had exchanged at the customer service desk. To make a long story short the department manager called the cops, they arrested the woman outside the store. She pleaded for them to go inside and speak with the salesclerk she had transacted with but they were determined she was lying and took her away. A big lawsuit ensued, the woman didn't steal anything, was subjected to public embarassment. She won her case and the jury awarded such a large settlement that the store appealed. She got less but it was still QUITE A BIT!

 

[outonbail]

I read about a similar situation at a large department store where a woman was accused of stealing an item that she had exchanged at the customer service desk. To make a long story short the department manager called the cops, they arrested the woman outside the store. She pleaded for them to go inside and speak with the salesclerk she had transacted with but they were determined she was lying and took her away. A big lawsuit ensued, the woman didn't steal anything, was subjected to public embarassment. She won her case and the jury awarded such a large settlement that the store appealed. She got less but it was still QUITE A BIT!

How is this "a similar situation"?

Nothing was exchanged at the service desk
No manager called the police
No one was arrested outside the store
No one was pleading to speak with any sales clerk
No one determined they were lying, which is why they were released
No one was taken away
No one was subjected to public embarrassment
and finally,
No one will be winning a big settlement

Well, I guess you got me here, aside from these issues, it was almost a similar situation.

 

[Qtip]

They were both falsely accused of stealing something, they were both innocent, they were both very humiliated. Personally I would have said, keep the $100 and take the 6 o'clock news to clear my name.

 

[panther10758]

Telling the News would do what? Place their name out there as thieves (alledged) further the embarassment to what gain? 15 minutes of fame and shame for store. Store will not lose any serious buisness and OP will be subjected to further embarassment. Store would take the $100.00 off the table then theres nothing! What happened will likely cost some people their jobs and rightly so. they could always sue spend thousands and possibly years for little or no return. What happened was wrong but to pursue this past the $100.00 will only cause more problems. If anything ask for $500.00 and leave it be.