Can this man sue Best Buy?
Fred Evans
he'd end up in trouble with the Secret Service for supposed
counterfeiting.
Mike Bolesta of Baltimore, MD, knew that paying his $114 installation
charge to Best Buy in only $2 bills would cause a small stir, but he
didn't think it would cause him to be arrested (article requires
registration; use login bse...@dodgeit.com/bselig - thanks, bugmenot).
Humiliating," the 57-year old Bolesta was saying now. "I am 6 feet
5 inches tall, and I felt like 8 inches high. To be handcuffed, to have
all those people looking on, to be cuffed to a pole -- and to know you
haven't done anything wrong. And me, with a brother, Joe, who spent 33
years on the city police force. It was humiliating."
After buying a stereo, finding that it would not work, having a new
stereo model installed, and being told that he did not have to pay an
installation fee, Bolesta was contacted by the store, and was threated
with police action if he did not pay the fee he was told before did not
exist. As a sign of protest, Bolesta decided to pay using only $2
bills, which he has an abundance of because he asks his bank for them
specifically.
Unfortunately for him, the cashier did not seem to understand that the
$2 bill is indeed legal US tender, since the bill itself is not often
used. After rudely refusing to take the money, the cashier accepted the
bills, only to mark them as though they were conterfeit. Supposedly,
the suspicion of counterfeit was due to a smearing of the ink on the
bill, but Secret Service agent Leigh Turner stated to the police that
the bills were indeed legitimate, adding that "Sometimes ink on money
can smear."
Perhaps the most galling aspect of this story is not the fact that it
happened, or even the treatment that Mr. Bolesta endured, but the
rationale used to explain the incident away, as stated by Baltimore
County police spokesman Bill Toohey: "It's a sign that we're all a
little nervous in the post-9/11 world." The "post-9/11 world" hardly
excuses shackling a citizen to a pole or placing him in leg irons
merely on one person's ignorant suspicions. In fact, there is nothing
that should ever excuse this kind of treatment.
At the very least, Bolesta's son now wishes to distance himself from $2
bills from now on. Apparently, he doesn't want to be labeled a
counterfeiter, either.
bat
No. Best Buy did nothing wrong by reporting their concerns to the local
authorities. The man can sue the city, however it's very unlikely that he
would win: even if the police shot him to death right at the checkout, the
jury most likely would say that it was justified by the existing terrorist
threat. We are all little nervous after 9/11, so things happen.
regards
Steve
you want, as long as you're willing to pay the costs. Will he win?
Not likely.
doubter
wrote:
> When Mike Bolesta went to pay his bill at Best Buy, he had no idea
>he'd end up in trouble with the Secret Service for supposed
>counterfeiting.
>
>Mike Bolesta of Baltimore, MD, knew that paying his $114 installation
>charge to Best Buy in only $2 bills would cause a small stir, but he
>didn't think it would cause him to be arrested (article requires
>registration; use login bse...@dodgeit.com/bselig - thanks, bugmenot).
This has all the signs of a new urban legend. Can someone supply a link to
a legitimate news organization web page that contains the story? All I
have seen is user contribution sites. Also, I would think it is the type
of story that would get lots of coverage as "light filler" that the news
shows like so much if it were true.
Wordsmith
while they were here awaiting martyrdom?
W
Steve
According to Snopes, the article appeared in the Baltimore Sun - see
last few paragraphs at
http://www.snopes.com/business/money/tacobell.asp
The Real Bev
And here's the article itself:
<http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.olesker08mar08,1,76004.column?coll=bal-local-columnists&ctrack=4&cset=true>
--
Cheers, Bev
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Tip: Place your houseplants in front of the television during
the next presidential debate and watch how leafy they get."
-- Scott Adams
L Sternn
wrote:
>Hmmm, I wonder how many of the 9-11 terrorists used 2 dollar bills
>while they were here awaiting martyrdom?
>
I dunno, but Cabaret Royale in Dallas used to give $2 bills as change.
It kind of makes it difficult to only tip dancers $1 if you don't have
any ones.
>
>W
The Real Bev
Cut them in half the long way. The bills, not the dancers.
--
Cheers, Bev
=============================================================
"On the other hand, I live in California so I'd be willing to
squeeze schoolchildren to death if I thought some oil would
come out." -- Scott Adams
Harry K
Yep. Look far enough and you can find a sleaze bag lawyer who will sue
anyone for anything. They have nothing to lose. Win and they win big
(40% or more of the take), loose and they only lost a bit of time.
Harry K
The Gist
I sure hope you are kidding!?!? Just what exactly is so frightening
about someone paying with $2 bills for a car stereo? Now, if he were
paying in $100 bills for dynamite and had a "I hate the US" t-shirt on
maybe that would be a slightly different story.
As much as I hate to admit it you are likely not joking and are, in
fact, a complete fucking moron.
This guy most certainly has a case against the store. Similarily, you
have a case against the maker of the lead paint chips you obviously ate
as a kid.
ted rosenberg
--
"...in addition to being foreign territory the past is, as history, a
hall of mirrors that reflect the needs of souls observing from the present"
Glen Cook
BaltimoreSux
"bat" <b...@bats.com> wrote in message
news:RjR6e.297$HK6...@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
Bzzzzzzzzz. Wrong. Bolesta has grounds for a civil suit against Best Buy.
He he can not sue the city as this incident occured in the county, and he
does have a case against the county.
BaltimoreSux
"doubter" <dev...@san.spamblock.com> wrote in message
news:8sco515ivs6r0ksbi...@4ax.com...
Was reported in the Sunpapers and on the local news. It is a true story
BetterNewsBaltimore
news:Ph08e.17786$nH4.1442@trndny05:
> Was reported in the Sunpapers and on the local news. It is a
> true story
But Mark, they also reported that you are a wanted man, and most
likely guilty of several crimes. That must be true too, right?
bat
B> Buy.
Sure he has. The only problem would be to find a lawyer who'd think this
case had a chance to win.
This another guy certainly also had a case:
Tiny Human Ferret
> On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 21:13:19 -0400, Fred Evans <gai...@montcomd.net>
> wrote:
>
>
>> When Mike Bolesta went to pay his bill at Best Buy, he had no idea
>>he'd end up in trouble with the Secret Service for supposed
>>counterfeiting.
>>
>>Mike Bolesta of Baltimore, MD, knew that paying his $114 installation
>>charge to Best Buy in only $2 bills would cause a small stir, but he
>>didn't think it would cause him to be arrested (article requires
>>registration; use login bse...@dodgeit.com/bselig - thanks, bugmenot).
>
>
> This has all the signs of a new urban legend. Can someone supply a link to
> a legitimate news organization web page that contains the story?
I personally saw it in _the Washington Post_
> All I
> have seen is user contribution sites. Also, I would think it is the type
> of story that would get lots of coverage as "light filler" that the news
> shows like so much if it were true.
--
The incapacity of a weak and distracted government may
often assume the appearance, and produce the effects,
of a treasonable correspondence with the public enemy.
--Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
==================================================================
"Sometimes, Evil drives a mini-van."
--Desperate Housewives
Tiny Human Ferret
> L Sternn wrote:
>
>>On 12 Apr 2005 14:25:23 -0700, "Wordsmith" <word...@rocketmail.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Hmmm, I wonder how many of the 9-11 terrorists used 2 dollar bills
>>>while they were here awaiting martyrdom?
>>
>>I dunno, but Cabaret Royale in Dallas used to give $2 bills as change.
>>
>>It kind of makes it difficult to only tip dancers $1 if you don't have
>>any ones.
>
>
> Cut them in half the long way. The bills, not the dancers.
>
"Headless Body in Topless Bar!"
--New York Times, quite a while back
BaltimoreSux
"Tiny Human Ferret" <ixnayamsp...@earthops.net> wrote in message
news:42DE5577...@earthops.net...
> doubter wrote:
>> On Mon, 11 Apr 2005 21:13:19 -0400, Fred Evans <gai...@montcomd.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>> When Mike Bolesta went to pay his bill at Best Buy, he had no idea
>>>he'd end up in trouble with the Secret Service for supposed
>>>counterfeiting.
>>>
>>>Mike Bolesta of Baltimore, MD, knew that paying his $114 installation
>>>charge to Best Buy in only $2 bills would cause a small stir, but he
>>>didn't think it would cause him to be arrested (article requires
>
>
> I personally saw it in _the Washington Post_
>
>> All I
>> have seen is user contribution sites. Also, I would think it is the type
>> of story that would get lots of coverage as "light filler" that the news
>> shows like so much if it were true.
>
>
> --
> The incapacity of a weak and distracted government may
> often assume the appearance, and produce the effects,
> of a treasonable correspondence with the public enemy.
> --Gibbon, "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire"
> ==================================================================
> "Sometimes, Evil drives a mini-van."
> --Desperate Housewives
>
Talk about an old post. Happens to be a true story..........
sjbr...@gmail.com
tom purz
> This is obviously a lack of judgment, training, oversight, and overall stupidity of the management. If you hire a cashier that doesn't know what a 2 dollar bill, you shouldn't hire them. If the manager is that ignorant to look up the legitimacy of the existence of a 2 dollar bill, inadequate to be a manager. If a police officer believes in the constitution of due process, that officer, dispatch, and police chief need to go back to the police academy for knowing how to investigate a claim that can easily be verified.
If Best Buy could be sued that is a bit tricky and you would need additional details that do not exist.
Did Best Buy detain him? Was he free to leave and waited for the police on his own accord?
If Best Buy did detain him then it is possible that they could face part of the lawsuit, But if he waited on his own accord then the city is most likely on the hook for the entire lawsuit.
The thing is the way the law works is the police can detain you if they believe you are involved in a crime but they can not arrest you unless they have evidence that shows you were involved in a criminal act.
If they are wrong in this regard the city should be responsible in civil court. Another question is should the officer that arrested him go to jail for this unlawful arrest? That part we can not say because a court would have to rule on if he can use qualified immunity I suspect that this might not be allowed because the officer should know what legal tender is and you should not be able to arrest someone for something that you do not have proof is a crime.
For Best Buy in this instance if they detained him and he did not commit a crime, then the person who detained him either Loss Prevention or the Manager on duty can be sued and could go to jail for this. Ignorance of the law is no excuse and Best Buy would not have any sort of immunity or legal shield in this regard
When it comes to Loss Prevention I had to take 4 years of schooling to hold the position of a Loss Prevention Manager
But the basic rule of thumb that they give you for shoplifters that even a Loss Prevention Associate would learn in the first 30 days of employment this basic rule would apply They even give out little cards for you to keep in your shirt pocket.
I'm sure they have changed the verbiage but the general rules are this:
1. Observe the subject select the merchandize
2. Watch where they conceal the merchandize
3. Keep eye contact with them at all times to ensure that the merchandize was not dumped
4. Wait for them to pass the last POS typically at the exist where there is no other merchandize or wait for them to exit the first set of doors. Best Buy it would be where the Loss Prevention Associate is stationed in the front. Walmart It would be past the first set of doors but before the second that allows you to exist the building
5. Make the Stop
The point of those instructions is that you see a crime happen that you know is a crime and that when they are stopped it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are involved in a crime.
If you stop them and they do not have the merchandize you can actually do jail time and you can also be personally sued as well as the company you work for this as a Loss Prevention Associate or even a Manger who ever makes the stop is liable and they are acting on behalf of the company.
Bottom line is the stop is a detainment which also can be considered an arrest if that person did nothing wrong then that is a false arrest and you are liable, Just because the police might agree they are not a judge and jury and they do not shield Best Buy from legal consequences. So it all depends on what Best Buy did.
I am pretty confident that the city could be sued for the police arresting him. Because the evidence would not warrant the arrest.
One thing that I did not take into consideration is different state laws because I am sure California has some crackpot law that does something to try and take away an individual's right of innocence until proven guilty and some how penalizes the average person because face it that is the way that backwards state works....
So it might be a bit different in some sort of liberal state like California...