For Civil Recovery The Age Of Majority Is Not Always Eighteen
In the United States and its territories, other than laws concerning consumption of alcohol, most people believe that once a person reaches eighteen years of age, provided they do not otherwise suffer from some legal incapacity or disability, that the person is considered an adult and is legally responsible for his or her own actions. As parents, many of us long for this day of being free from legal responsibilities of parenthood, even if it comes with some mixed feelings of whether your children can really fend for themselves, as many believe the magical age of 18 puts an end to being held legally responsible for the negligent or tortious acts of our child(ren). However, this may be an incorrect assumption when it comes to civil liability for theft from retailers by minors (i.e. “civil recovery liability”) and possibly other civil matters as parental/guardian liability for the negligent or tortious acts of minors is controlled by state law.
Read MoreNot All Trust Accounts Are Created Equal
Many businesses have trust accounts with banking institutions to hold the client’s funds in, but just how safe are the client’s funds that are deposited into such an account? The general conception may be that a trust account is inviolable in that the clients’ funds or portion of the funds are specifically earmarked for disbursement to that client only and cannot be used by the entity holding the money in any other way. Depending on the type of trust account, the type of entity that has oversight of it and the extent of the oversight, this general conception may be flawed.
Read MoreCash Theft vs. Merchandise Theft and Its Applicability to Civil Recovery Statutes
Civil recovery statutes are civil laws, specific to each state, that spell out what type of damages may be requested for acts of retail theft and how those damages and/or losses may be recovered from the party causing them. Many retailers are unclear on whether a certain state's civil recovery statute will be applicable to the theft of cash or cash obtained through some fraudulent act. This confusion generally surrounds specific words contained within each statute that have a specific legal meaning, which may vary greatly from the layperson’s subjective interpretation.
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