Civil Demand in Massachussetts

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Massachusetts

My 17 y/o was shoplifiting in JCPenneys (with a friend - one item <$100). She has already been to court and criminal charges are dismissed (first offense, model student, community volunteer, etc.)

JCP had her sign the Civil Demand and another document that stated she signed of her own free will. They also had her fill out a form with her ss#, address, etc. and MY (and spouse's) information. My daughter and friend said that the forms were put in front of them, they were told to sign and if they did not, they would be arrested on the spot. We can't even get copies of the forms - JCP wont give them to us.

Questions:

Is what my 17 y/o daughter signed a legal agreement to pay and acknowledge that this was signed by her own free will?

Was she coerced to sign and is that action by JCP legal?

Are we entitled to receive all copies of the docs that were signed?

Based on the above, does she pay or do we get a lawyer to deal with the JCP LP/legal team?

Thanks for any insight!

Pay the civil demand ASAP. If you do not, JC Penney can take you to court, and add in their legal costs (cost of filing a case in Civil Court, attorney fees).

I am not sure how you would get copies of the documents that were signed by your daughter.

Remember that if your daughter was not arrested (or charged in Criminal Court), JC Penney does have up to a year to file those charges, if they should choose to. (This is separate from the Civil Demand).

You should get a consultation with a Criminal Defense Attorney. Many offer free consultations. Check your Yellow Pages.

Thanks for your reply. An application for a criminal complaint was issued and I was able to get a clerk's hearing the next day after receipt of the application. She will have no record. The case has been disposed of.

We have spoken with both criminal defense attorneys and civil litigators (actually 4 to be exact) as well as the DA (who is prosecuting a case against the drunk driver who almost killed my entire family in February) and the police prosecutor about this part of the case.

The net-net is that they feel that my daughter was coerced and threatened into signing the paperwork using deceptive business practices and recommended that I make a written demand for the paperwork, along with an explanation by JCP as to how all personal information collected will be used and protected by them.

I have also been advised to file a complaint with corporate HR against the store manager who threatened ME with police action if I continued to request the documents as well as against the LP department for their treatment of my daughter. I have been in communication with their corporate legal team as well as HR in an attempt to resolve (rather than pursue) this case to our mutual satisfaction. We'll see....