Legal Question in Business Law in California

Hi. I owned a consignment store in upper Northern California. It is a long story- but I was evicted after it changed hands. I was struggling prior to that but did not see the eviction coming until 5 days before. That is a separate issue that needs resolving later.

So... I took care of most consignors via payment or returning their items when my store closed. I have 7 consignors left that I still owe money to- ranging from $ 100. - $ 2,500. The total is under $ 10,000. It has been over a month and I am working on paying people as quickly as funds come in.

My question is this: In regards to the people that I still owe money to (the people that were consigning items in my store)... I know they can take me to civil court by filing a lawsuit but can they have me arrested for theft? I am paying them back one by one- but there a 3 in particular that are threatening to have me arrested.

I know this makes no difference at all- but- up until the time I closed all of the people I have yet to pay had made a lot of money. It was when the shop was closed that the problems began.


Asked on 9/17/14, 10:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

The district attorney files charges for theft. The fact that you have gone out of business does not mean you have committed a crime. The prosecutor is not going to file charges unless there is evidence that you took items on consignment and then never intended on paying once they were sold.

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Answered on 9/17/14, 11:22 am


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