Trespass To Property Act

[Valerio]

My 13 year old niece was at the mall last night.  After purchasing a skirt at one of the merchants she was showing the skirt to a friend when one of the other kids around grabbed the bag and proceded to keep it from her by throwing to one another.  A security guard came over, enquired as to whom the bag belonged to and proceeded to write up a Notice Prohibiting Entry form for my niece because the bag was hers and issued one to the last kid that had the bag.  I was not called and notified of this and she was escorted from the mall.  The reason for the notice was "Loitering".  I feel that this is wrong on so many levels, and I would like to know what I can do about this.  I am her legal guardian and she resides with me and is a great kid.  She was very upset that they would not listen to her and allowed the other boy that also received the notice to go to the movies.

Please respond asap.   Thank you Jody Chauvin

[Falcon]

Dear Jody,

A shopping mall is private property. Mall security and management can decide who is allowed to enter the mall.  Their decision does not have to be reasonable or justified, provided that their decision is not based on human rights discrimination. If your niece returns to the mall, mall management may have her charged with trespassing.  Practically speaking, they may only ask her to leave(if they recognize her).

Unfortunately, there is not much that you can do by way of legal action(assuming there is no human rights discrimination).

Your best approach is to write a letter to mall management outlining your concerns and asking them to reconsider their decision.

Hope that helps,  

Gil Zvulony