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If i pay the settlement offer for petty theft, will the court most likely still charge me with a seperate fine
Anonymous1 views2 answers
I got caught shoplifting at Safeway the total items equaling less then $50, Palmer, Reifler & Associates (their lawyers) sent me a letter requesting to settle the matter with a $300 payment to them. I also have court to go to and I was wondering, if I pay the lawyers, will the court most likely still add another fee? or will this most likely be it as far as money goes?
The prosecutor will likely still charge you with a crime regardless of whether or not you pay the civil fine. The punishment itself depends upon the facts surrounding the offense and your criminal history, if any.
That letter you got was a "civil demand" letter and has absolutely NOTHING to do with any criminal prosecution. If you choose not to pay their demand, they have to make a decision - file a small claims case against you or let it go. For such a small amount (and they probably recovered the items and just turned around and resold them anyway) for which they're not out any money damages, their recovery would be next to nothing. It isn't worth it to file suit over such a small amount. Instead, they send threatening letters and hope you'll just pay what they ask for. If you look around here on avvo, you'll find that the overwhelming consensus is that nobody has ever heard of anyone actually being sued in a situation like this.
If you are prosecuted, restitution will be part of any settlement - and if they recovered the items, the restitution should be $0. If you are convicted (and I'm not saying you will be or should be - your attorney may be able to work out something to keep this from becoming a conviction), then yes, there would be court costs and fines aside from whatever amount they're asking for in their shakedown letter.
