Can I sue for being falsely accused and harassed?
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Can I sue for being falsely accused and harassed?
I was stopped in the parking lot by Kohl’s supposed security personnel. They falsely accused me of shoplifting. They didn’t give me their names or provide proof of employment name tag. Threatened to call the cops but didn’t. Didn’t even search my bag or purse, though I offered several times. Kept me against my will for several minutes. I exposed my skin to them in the middle of the parking lot to show proof I didn’t have their missing merchandise. And they still continued. Eventually I just left because I was tired of putting up with their lack of professionalism. I want to sue them because they cannot be going around falsely accusing people of crimes they did not commit. It’s embarrassing and I feel victimized.
Asked on October 5, 2016 under Personal Injury, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
There is no recovery or compensation for embarassment or feeling victimized--those are not things that you can recover money or compensation for. If they accused you due to your race, religion, or national origin, they may have done something wrong, since the law specifically bars those kinds of discrimination in many public settings (though if they did not discriminate you on such a basis, they may not have done anything legally wrong, no matter how unprofessional or unfair it was--the law does nto enforce professionalism or fairness); however, even if they were legally in the wrong, if you suffered nothing more than embarrassment and your feelings of being victimized, there's no practical point in suing--you'll spend more (in terms of time and money both) on the lawsuit than you'll get back.
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