The
tongue-in-cheek 1987 Smiths' song "Shoplifters of the World Unite"
urges petty thieves to get their act together and take over the world. Some accused shoplifters in California may be taking that message to
heart.
According
to a class action complaint filed by lead
plaintiff Mr. Jimin Chen in California Superior Court last week, Home Depot's
Florida-based lawyers extorted millions of dollars in settlements from accused
shoplifters, by fraudulently representing that the home improvement giant would
press criminal charges and bring civil claims, without any intention of ever
doing so.
Specifically, the lead plaintiff alleges that he and a friend were shopping at a local California Home Depot in early June. Before Chen's $1,445.90 purchase of a large quantity of lumber, he and his friend casually put on a pair of $3.99 work gloves. Before the purchase was rung up by cashiers, they removed the gloves and placed them on the top of the lumber. The checkout personnel failed to scan the gloves.
After he
paid for the lumber, but before he left the store, Chen alleges he was suddenly
taken into custody by a Home Depot security guard who accused him of trying to
shoplift the gloves.
Chen
claims he suffered an asthma attack and was handcuffed and kept in custody for
as much as 30 minutes. The police were never called and no charges were
filed. Chen was asked by Home Depot's personnel to sign an agreement that
would keep Chen from shopping at any Home Depot for 90 days. Chen signed
the agreement and presumably was happy to oblige. The agreement also contained a general "notice" that purported to warn the accused thief that he might face further charges, or civil demands.
Soon after the incident, Chen received a formal letter from a Florida law firm, demanding payment of $350 as a civil settlement of possible ramifications from the incident within 20 days. When he failed to respond, a follow-up letter from the lawyers allegedly upped the demand to $625.
Instead
of paying, Chen filed the class action lawsuit. Chen alleges that
in 4 years, Home Depot hasn't sued a single person under California's
anti-shoplifting law, which provides that merchants are entitled to recover the
cost of stolen items, up to a total value of $500.
Rather,
he alleges that Home Depot illegally created a "profit center" out of a scheme
to defraud frightened customers/alleged shoplifters.
It is
worth noting that there were no clear damages in Chen's incident, as the two
pair of gloves were recovered before Chen left the store, in any event.
There is no clear indication why Home Depot would be entitled to any
civil recovery from Chen, much less $625.
The suit
further alleges that Home Depot and its lawyers were capitalizing on the fact
that thousands of accused shoplifters would be terrified by the demand letters
and would pay up, instead of facing a lawsuit and/or criminal prosecution.
It is
also worth noting that it is a crime for someone to overtly threaten to file
criminal charges in exchange for compensation. Home Depot's rights and
remedies for attempted petit larceny were to press criminal charges.
Needless to
say, the suit has created a public relations embarrassment for Home Depot,
which has reportedly responded by saying that it disagrees that the
"general practice of civil demands is unlawful."
