I’d like to share a case of Negligent Detention by a major retailer of two “suspected shoplifters” that took place over two years ago. Of course, I’m not naming the subjects or retailer involved, but can tell you this case was settled, in favor of the plaintiffs, for a very sizeable sum of money and could have been avoided if the retailer’s agents and management staff had use an ounce of common sense. I’ve written extensively on the topic of Litigation Avoidance and this case points directly to what went wrong and how it could have been avoided.

 

First off, every state has what is called a “Merchant Detention” or Shopkeeper’s Liability” statute. The state in which this detention occurred has a particularly strong statute that allows a retailer to stop and question suspected shoplifters biased on “probable cause.” Probable cause, as defined by most states, is the retailer has reasonable suspicion to believe the suspect has taken merchandise belonging to the retailer. That is a very simplified definition and readers should determine what constitutes probable cause in their respective state.

 

Some of the facts surrounding this case are: