Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Shoplifting in the case of a monor.
My 13 year old daughter was caught�for shoplifting a lip gloss from a popular store in the mall. We went to court, paid a hefty fine. Two weeks later I receive a letter from " Civil Recovery Services" claiming to represent the said store and on behalf of said store demanded a settlement of $200.00 as a result of the incident. The merchandise was undamaged and taken back by the store and was worth a maximum of $5.00. My question: Is this legal ? or am I a sucker to pay this. They gave a phone # to call but I was hesitant to make ANY contact with them. Any help you can give would be greatly appreciated ! Thank you
2 Answers from Attorneys
sounds bogus to me
i would not pay it. i know of no law entitling them to such a charge.
"Civil Recovery Services" -- a LAW firm?
I wouldn't pay it, if I were you.
It sounds like this is an attempt to settle a potential civil claim against you (as guardian of your daughter) for the shoplifting incident. The claim would be that your daughter's detention, arrest, etc., cost the mallstore time and money. However, since your daughter pled guilty -- or "responsible," I guess is the plea in juvenile court -- the mallstore didn't run up any costs for attending court hearings or trial, which would have made the $200 figure more realistic.
I'm intrigued, however, by the name of this outfit -- "Civil Recover Services" -- is it a law firm? Or somebody (possibly) practicing law in California without a license?(Not that the currently-bankrupt State Bar will do anything about THAT, of course!)
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