In a message dated 12/28/2006 8:50:31 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,
bornloser1537@yahoo.com writes:
unfortunate that many a "private business" has had to buckle under at times
with court
Common law places a burden on those that deal directly with the public in
essential matters such as traveling, accommodations, food, burning their dead,
etc. Most states and certainly our Federal Courts have adopted this higher
standard of care. Some local and state governments have actually put into place
legislation requiring the hotel and/or restaurant owners to have special
burdens of care separate from just a private business owner.
Therefore, a restaurant owner can legally refuse service to anyone provided
it is for the right reasons and he has sufficient evidence of this to prepare
for a potential court battle. An example--a child sits with his parents and
throws eggs all over the restaurant floor. I would consider this ridiculous
behavior for parents not to manage their child's throwing! But the courts
would say-"So, what eggs drop on the floor all the time! Are you telling
everyone that drops eggs to leave the establishment?" " A child sits with his
parents and starts to sing loudly, but there are always people that speak loudly
because of hearing problems, their particular voice or because of the noise
level of many restaurants. An adult drunk as a skunk sings loudly--you have an
excellent argument for asking them to leave. A child uses a DVD loudly without
earphones in a restaurant. The manager cannot refuse service but can ask them
to please move to another location and request them to turn it down. He
could also after the fact mount a sign saying NO DVD PLAYING.
A private business that is not servicing the public for essentials (such as
selling retail clothing in a mall where there are many clothing shops) can
refuse to sell to anyone for the right reason and they do. For example, if you
have too many returns and the store suspects you are running a scam. They
will call you over when you enter and ask you to accompany them to their
offices. If you carry a large bag they may ask you not to enter with it--etc., etc.
The same would go for the DVD. Or perhaps a drunk comes into the store , a
child starts pulling the clothing down, etc. etc. Can the owner get sued for
this? But of course you can always can be served with a law suit, but if it is
frivolous you can turn around under most state statues and counter sue them
for abuse of process and seek financial compensation. Some state statues even
provide for a compensation from the attorney bringing a frivolous law suit if
you can prove he knew it was frivolous. AND in most cases the matter is
immediately dropped if it has not merit. By-the-way you probably don't even need
a lawyer to serve a counter suit. You can get the forms by copying them out
of most law libraries (maybe even online)--write it out in plain ENGLISH
(something attorneys rarely use) and have your buddy serve it to the people.
Excuse me folks--far too pedantic today and chatty -chatty- chatty!!!
China
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