Being Sued by Wal-Mart for Theft

[John_Francis]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Texas

Recently my girlfriend foolishly stole make up from wal-mart. Please I am already extremely angry by this and yes I know how stupid she is, so no need to tell me what I already know . She recently received a letter in the mail form wal-marts attorneys stating that they are going to pursue a civil case on top of the legal case she has pending. They, pretty much in thug terms, said pay us $200 or we will sue you for theft, attorney fees, and court cost. She is freaking out and I do not know what to do. Let me explain what happened.

She went to wal-mart. Put some makeup in her purse. Before she was even going to go check out she was grabbed by security, and her purse was taken from her. She was led to the back and put in a room. She waited for 3 hours until the police finally arrived just to harass her, stating that he wanted to "strip search her just to make sure", then proceeded to high five the "wal-mart goon". She was ticketed for theft and went to court today, where she foolishly tried to plead guilty and asked for deferred judification. They said they would grant her deferred if she paid $400 to the courts. She did not have that kind of money, and thankfully the judge did not take the guilty plea and scheduled her to return to court in one month. She has received a letter from wal-marts attorneys stating that they are suing her for theft AND damages.

Yes she is stupid. Yes she attempted to steal but did not steal. She did not damage any product that she attempted to steal. IS wal-mart actually going to sue her? Can they legally sue her even if she did not leave with the item or damage it in any way? Has anyone heard of this happening before? What is the best way to handle this situation? Hiring a lawyer is out of the question she does not have enough money, and I believe she is not entitled to a free public defender for a class C misdemeanor. Any advice would be helpful, thank you.

[PandorasBox]

She can get a consultation with a Criminal Defense Lawyer. Many offer free 30-minute consultations.

Public Defenders are not always free, for example my area charges $210.

Yes, they can sue for not paying the Civil Demand, and include attorney fees, court costs, etc.

[PandorasBox]

And I would ask a lawyer what may happen if you don't pay the civil demand.

Aphex Twin says nothing will happen.

Myself and other will tell you: Yes, the store can sue your ass. So your civil demand would be $200 or so.....but ignoring it would increase it to include the stores costs of taking you to court (court costs, legal fees). And could also have an impact on your credit rating.

I won't tell you what to do.It's up to you to decide if you feel lucky.

[irishgreg83]

The loss prevention employee at wal mart is not a goon he is a normal person trying to do his job.

The civil demand is to cover the costs of theft to the retailor, that includes the product, the "goons" wage, cameras ect...

Your girlfriend did steal just because she didn't make it home with the product doesn't change the act.

Pay the demand and learn a life lesson.

[cyjeff]

Chances are "goon" was the correct word to describe him--Wal-Mart loss prevention is notorious for being rough and unprofessional.

Generalities help nothing.

I cannot comment on the local statutes, but most jurisdictions have built civil demands and limits into the statutes.

Retail theft costs retailers billions a year. They take it's prevention and prosecution seriously.

[divemedic]

Actually, Wal Mart DOES sue for this all the time. I am not sure about the TX statute, but the Florida statute reads like this:

772.11 Civil remedy for theft or exploitation.--

(1) Any person who proves by clear and convincing evidence that he or she has been injured in any fashion by reason of any violation of ss. 812.012-812.037 or s. 825.103(1) has a cause of action for threefold the actual damages sustained and, in any such action, is entitled to minimum damages in the amount of $200, and reasonable attorney's fees and court costs in the trial and appellate courts. Before filing an action for damages under this section, the person claiming injury must make a written demand for $200 or the treble damage amount of the person liable for damages under this section. If the person to whom a written demand is made complies with such demand within 30 days after receipt of the demand, that person shall be given a written release from further civil liability for the specific act of theft or exploitation by the person making the written demand.

You don't have to make it out of the store to be guilty of shoplifting. Hiding the merchandise is enough.

[chuckycheese]

That letter is known as a "civil demand" letter. Stores are legally entitled to send out such letters requesting a "civil demand" payment rather than pursuing a civil suit in court. You are not legally required to pay a civil demand letter, but if you don't then the store can, in theory, pursue a court case against you, which, speaking realistically, almost never happens (especially when the amount of the item here is so small and the item was recovered by loss prevention). If that did happen then your girlfriend would be personally delivered a court summons by the local police department or a lawyer. My personal advice to your girlfriend would be to ignore any "civil demand" letters. If you want to learn more information about these, google "retail civil demand" and you can read various articles and other information.

For what it's worth....there's an attorney (with about 35 years experience practicing law) in the San Francisco area that I heard discussing this on the radio. His response to a question about civil demands was almost EXACTLY the same as this one. He also said that he always recommend that clients ignore demands for payment and that he'd never heard of a retailer suing any of them.

[cyjeff]

For what it's worth....there's an attorney (with about 35 years experience practicing law) in the San Francisco area that I heard discussing this on the radio. His response to a question about civil demands was almost EXACTLY the same as this one. He also said that he always recommend that clients ignore demands for payment and that he'd never heard of a retailer suing any of them.

My experience is completely different.

I recommend you search this forum ALONE to find the number of people that have been sued after ignoring the civil demand.

[chuckycheese]

My experience is completely different.

I recommend you search this forum ALONE to find the number of people that have been sued after ignoring the civil demand.

I don't really care one way or the other....I was simply reporting what I heard the attorney say so don't read something into my post that isn't there. However, come to think of it, I don't recall ever seeing a post where anyone said they were being sued by a retailer.

Maybe you could do a search and make reference to a few examples where someone was being sued (not threatened, but really being sued). I'm sure quite a few people would be interested in knowing since the civil demand aspect of shoplifting seems to come up so often.

[PandorasBox]

I would ask yourself this:

How many people have posted to ask a question?
How many people have reported back throughout their Criminal Law Case?

Look around....you will see many people have posted questions. Few have given updates on their case.

You will also see that the more experienced people, such as those who are Retail Security/Loss Prevention Offers do tell you to pay the demand immediately.

In my case, my lawyer did advise me to pay the Civil Demand immediately, send him a copy of the receipt. It was brought up in court, along with the copy of the receipt showing it was paid.