Can a Business be Sued for Failure to Prevent Robbery

My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: Texas

On my way home from work one night I stopped at a store that I go to frequently. As I was going inside the store I noticed a man outside and got a weird feeling. I told the clerk that there was a man outside and for him to call police because something didnt seem right but he refused to. The man entered the store as I was at the counter paying. He went and got a cup of ice then came up next to me and said "Dont be scared lady I come here all the time" he then walked out. Again I tell the clerk several times to call police but he wouldnt. I stalled inside the store for a while then when we didnt see him I left. Just as I walked out the door the man comes from around the corner and puts a gun to me. As I am screaming I see the clerk watching the man rob me thru the doors. Thank God I wasnt shot, he took my purse and ran. I was then able to get to my car and get my cell phone to call police.
Eventually the robber was caught and being charged with agg, robbery with a deadly weapon. I was terminated from my job because they felt I was a security risk. My life has been turned upside down because of all this and I feel it might have been prevented if the clerk hadnt refused to call the police.
Can the business or clerk be sued for not calling the police when I asked him to?

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Can the business or clerk be sued for not calling the police when I asked him to?

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Bystanders have no obligation to call law enforcement when they witness a crime being committed, neither are they responsible for preventing the crime.

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Quoting maritx219

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I was terminated from my job because they felt I was a security risk.

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What does that have to do with the rest of your story?

My point is although the robber has been caught this has cost me a lot such as my means of income which was my job. Anyone who has been through this understands the emotional trauma, the stress level elevates when you have serious financial loss as well. I am angry, I feel it was preventable.

sure it was preventable. You could have carried your cellphone with you and called the police. You could have not gone to that store to buy whatever. You could have gone to Hawaii that morning. Sure, it was preventable but unless you are psychic, you would not know how to prevent it.

Beyond that, what if the clerk called the police? What if they didn't respond to "a suspicious person" (for no defined reason mind you) call. What if exactly what happened happened since when you did not see the robber anymore, you left the store? Why would you have acted any differently. Do you think the robber would have not robbed you because you tell him the police have been called and they are on their way? How fast is the typical response to a "suspicious person" when the suspicion is based on your weird feeling?


btw: I have been robbed at gun point. I understand the trauma quite well. I did not blame the gas station for being robbed. They did not rob me and they did not cause it. it was the guy with the gun.

edit to add:

btw, yes, there are some situations where a business can be sued for failing to prevent a robbery but this isn't one of them.

He had reason to call if for nothing else loitering. You can make light of it but it is serious to me. If the police were called I wouldnt have left until they arrived but since they werent I couldnt spend the night there either. Maybe he had no "legal" responsibility to make the call and I cant do anything about it but I can be angry. If nothing else we all have a moral responsibility to each other and if more people helped instead of turning the other cheek then maybe it wouldnt happen as much as it does.
I didnt say the clerk caused what happened but could have prevented it. Also, I didnt say he could see into the future and knew it would happen but when I asked him to call the police he should have end of story.

Okay, you're in court. Prove that if the clerk had called the cops, the robbery not only could but would have been prevented. No matter what.

The first reply answered my question there is no legal liability. I am not arguing that. I just personally believe it could have been prevented. Never said it would have been.

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He had reason to call if for nothing else loitering.

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maybe the employee didn't have a problem with the loitering?

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Also, I didnt say he could see into the future and knew it would happen but when I asked him to call the police he should have end of story.

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and told the cops what? There is a guy outside my store that a customer gets a weird feeling about? When asked of the employee: has he done anything suspicious and employee answered that in the negative, you think the cops would actually respond?


what I see though is if the guy is a regular guy, maybe the employee was complicit in this. While I know it is stretching things...a lot, maybe the employee knew the guy was going to rob you and somehow aided in this. I didn't read anything where the employee called the police when you were robbed. While not mandated to do so, that is just a typical response to seeing a robbery. Not calling the police is a bit suspicious.

I work at a Senior Center, and about a year ago, some very suspicious and gruff looking man started hanging around the vicinity of the center, gave the staff and some our members the creeps. So people started to call 911, and described some strange man walking around, and might do something. So 911 asked "might do what"?? They were told "might rob someone".

We were told by 911 that citizens have a constitutional right to walk around neighborhoods (this is a commercial area NY - not some suburban residential neighborhood), that the police cannot just come and question someone standing around especially that if he handn't done anything. In fact, the person can turn around and sue the police for harassment, and can come after us if he found out we called.

Finally, our director know some people at the local precinct, pulled some strings, and detectives were sent by. Turned out it is a private eye hired by the wife of the local coffee shop owner who's been fooling around with some women, and he had to follow him around and provide photographic evidence.

Looking back, it took a number of days from the first call, to when detectives were finally dispatched, and in the initial 911 calls, if the caller just said there is someone hanging around giving you a bad feeling, no police would be sent, and on the repeated followup calls, 911 told us we are basically wasting their time.

So if you did sue, all the store has to do is have someone from 911 come to testify, we'd be all told that nothing would be done at all, and too late to prevent any robberies, if it happened the way you described.

Also, if someone came to my office, ask me to call 911 under similar circumstances you described, I would not be calling, especially after what I saw happened. This is in addition to the fact I have no LEGAL obligation at all to call to begin with, just as the store clerk has no obligation to call. In fact, some states had enacted "good samaritan laws", as the clerk can be sued for violating someone's constitutional rights had he guessed wrong, i.e. agreed with you the man is a robber, but turned out just to be a private eye doing his job, or someone waiting for a girlfriend to come by, and the law is meant to shield the clerk from legal liability.

But yes, I do call 911 often for medical emergencies at our center.