So my son and a friend were in a store and the friend stole something. Both parents got the call and my son was released with no charges. The friend had charges brought against him. Now I get a letter from some law firm in Florida telling me to pay a ridiculous amount of money or they will sue me. I did a search on them and they are getting sued under RICO as a class action. Any thoughts? I can't believe that they can do this, especially since my son wasn't even charged by the police and the store didn't want to press charges against him since the tapes clearly showed he wasn't even near the other kid when it happened.

I can understand that this is frustrating. I certainly would consider speaking with an attorney before you do anything. You may want to try to contact the firm that is dealing with the class action. Most states do allow civil demand letters, but typically they are sent to those that actually took the items. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.

Its state law and legal. Failure to pay can carry severe conbsequences to you and your child. P&R ( iassume firm your talking about) is being sued for tactics used to claim these monies. This will not remove fact thisw money is owed. Check your PMs for details and where to find them on civil demand

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I agree that they may be able to collect money from the shoplifter, but my child wasn't even involved. Just happened to have gone with the other child. The police and store cleared him and let him go after they viewed the video and spoke with the other child.

If your child had knowledge or played any role (even lookout) then fine is legit

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Your best advice legal advice does not come from internet message boards, Police, friends, family, your neighbors etc.It comes from an Attorney. Advice given here should not replace legal advice from a qualified Attorney.
Non legal parenting and relationship issues http://www.parentnook.com/forum/

He did not have any knowledgeof what was going on. The police report and the store report clearly states this. I spoke to the store manager, the loss prevention officer and the police officer and got copies of the reports. I really could understand if there was anything connecting my son to this, but there isn't. The name of the firm is Palmer Reifler & Associates P.A. Ever heard of this.

Yes I have and there is a class action law suit on them for their tactics in collecting these fines.

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Your best advice legal advice does not come from internet message boards, Police, friends, family, your neighbors etc.It comes from an Attorney. Advice given here should not replace legal advice from a qualified Attorney.
Non legal parenting and relationship issues http://www.parentnook.com/forum/

I wonder if my situation would fall under the class action suit. Should I try to contact them?

If you to site I gave you can get your answers

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Your best advice legal advice does not come from internet message boards, Police, friends, family, your neighbors etc.It comes from an Attorney. Advice given here should not replace legal advice from a qualified Attorney.
Non legal parenting and relationship issues http://www.parentnook.com/forum/

Thanks. I will check it out.