Civil penalties

[Scrappinmama]

In December 2005, my 12 year old son was caught shoplifting at Kmart. He was detained by the LP jerk (long story) and I was called and asked to come and pick him up. I did and they informed me that I would be contacted by Kmart's attorneys regarding where to go from there.

The police were not notified neither before nor after I arrived and my son was allowed to leave the store with me after they explained to me about receiving the letter from their attorneys and all that.

In January, we received the letter from the attorneys informing us that we needed to pay $280 (the price of the item that my son tried to steal plus $250). We immediately paid this and recently received a release letter stating that we were released from all statutory penalties. My question is this, at the end of the letter it states this:

"The release does not apply to claims for restitution or other matters which the store may have against Releasee. Should payment be disputed, contested or stopped, this release will be null and void."

What exactly does this mean? We did everything that we were asked to do, does this now mean that they can decide we didn't pay enough and demand more? I checked my state's statute, and what we paid was exactly what my state allows.

Can anyone help me here?

[PaulE]

I can't say for sure but it sounds like as long as the store has no other restitution pending you are done. BUT if you had failed to comply with the demand letter, all bets are off......just a guess.

[Scrappinmama]

Thank you Paul. I called the attorney and they explained that it meant that since I paid for the fees with my credit card, I have 60 days to dispute the charge and that the paragraph I questioned pertained to that. She did tell me that all civil matters relating to my son and this incident have been closed.

So, I'm breathing a sigh of relief here. Thank you again for answering my question.