New York permits retailers to make this demand. General Obligations Law 11-105 allows a store to seek the retail price of merchandise that was not recovered in resaleable condition, up to $1,500, plus a civil penalty. That penalty can be the greater of five times the retail price or $75, and it cannot exceed $500.
This is a civil money demand from a private company. It is not a court fine, it is not part of your sentence, and no judge has ordered it. Paying it does not dismiss the criminal charge, does not reduce it, and does not make the case go away.
Two separate tracks
A retail theft allegation can set two separate proceedings running. One is the criminal case, brought by the State, which is where jail exposure, your record and any sealing question live. The other is this civil demand, brought by the store, which is only ever about money.
They run independently. The criminal case can be dismissed and the letters can keep arriving. The letter can be paid in full and the criminal charge remains exactly where it was. Treating one as a way to resolve the other is the most common and most costly error here.
Should you pay it
That is a decision to make with a lawyer who has seen both the letter and the criminal file, and the answer turns on your particular facts. Before you decide:
- Paying does not resolve the criminal charge, and a letter suggesting otherwise should be read very carefully.
- Anything you write back can potentially be used. A letter explaining or apologizing is a written statement about a pending criminal matter.
- The amount demanded is a demand, not a judgment. Nothing has been adjudicated at the point the letter arrives.
- Where restitution is live in the criminal case, how and when payment is made can matter tactically, which is another reason to coordinate rather than act alone.
If the letters keep coming
Follow-up letters from collection agencies are common and tend to escalate in tone. Escalating language is not the same as escalating legal authority. Bring the correspondence to the first conversation rather than responding to it.
- Keep every letter and envelope, in order.
- Photograph anything you were asked to sign in the store.
- Do not write back to explain or apologize.
- Do not pay before the criminal case has been assessed.
- Do not throw it away either. Have someone read it.
The information on this page is general information about New York law. It is not legal advice about your case. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts.