Walmart overnighting challenged in court

[Mich F]

It says they're seeking more that $75,000. I imagine it's in the millions of dollars.

[Bigceasar]

Originally Posted by Spdracr39

The lawsuit was just filed and will be months before there is an outcome unless Walmart settles to make it go away. $75k is chump change. The lawyers will charge more than that for one court appearance.

The lawsuit is for an amount “in excess of $75,000”. That $75,000 is listed because it is the threshold for the case to be assigned to the court appropriate for large lawsuits rather than a small claims court or a municipal court.
The actual amount that will be adjudicated is almost assuredly many time that $75,000.

[dizcom]

The lesson is that if you use one of these stoves, it should be cool before you put it away. Don't get into a hurry when getting ready to move. That's when we make mistakes and some of those have consequences. These things get decided on all manner of things that we can't guess at here. At the end of the day, Walmart parking lots are private property and if they decide they don't want people parking their rigs there overnight, they're free to do so. Perhaps the other lesson is that if we want to continue to enjoy the welcome mat at places like Walmart, we should understand that what happens while we're there can impact that relationship.

[tcg]

In regard to the question of leaving kids in a car alone, in MN what she did is not illegal, it's only illegal in 19 states but the ages vary from 6 years old to 12. Some states say it's okay if an older child is with them.

In other words, let's not blame the mom without knowing all the circumstances.

What I find odd is the guy that started the fire was charged with second degree manslaughter. It got pleaded down but it was just a tragic accident. And I also don't think it was negligent arson. It's definitely a civil matter but criminal charges? Come on.

Here's a story about the legalities of leaving kids in cars.

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/...b-c791bfb573f1

[77Travco]

Legal or not ... I would never leave 2 little girls or boys sleeping in my vehicle while I went into a store anywhere on this planet. That's just common sense. Too late now though, poor kids.
Article said that motorhome was moved and parked in different location after cooking on outdoor type stove. Which has nothing to do with an overnight stay. He could have been there 1 hour or 10 days.
Tragic accident.

[Old-Biscuit]

Personal Responsibility is surely lacking......but hey sue sue sue.
Point the blame away.

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by Spdracr39

The lawsuit was just filed and will be months before there is an outcome unless Walmart settles to make it go away. $75k is chump change. The lawyers will charge more than that for one court appearance.

$75k is not the amount sought by the plaintiff, but a threshold amount that changes the class of the claim, IIRC.

"...seeking damages in excess of...."

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by tcg

In regard to the question of leaving kids in a car alone, in MN what she did is not illegal, it's only illegal in 19 states but the ages vary from 6 years old to 12. Some states say it's okay if an older child is with them.

In other words, let's not blame the mom without knowing all the circumstances.

What I find odd is the guy that started the fire was charged with second degree manslaughter. It got pleaded down but it was just a tragic accident. And I also don't think it was negligent arson. It's definitely a civil matter but criminal charges? Come on.

Here's a story about the legalities of leaving kids in cars.

https://www.kare11.com/article/news/...b-c791bfb573f1

Not seeing anyone here claim the mother's actions were *illegal*, only that they were subjectively negligent from a parenting perspective. In Minnesota that is not criminal, just a really bad idea.

I wonder if she'd sue Walmart, had a Tesla suffered a catastrophic battery failure while parked next to her car with the kids inside.

Sue me once, shame on you. Sue me twice, shame on me... my prediction is Walmart will settle out of court and likely prohibit overnight parking at this location.

I recall when this happened and there was speculation that Walmart would uniformly end overnight RV parking at all their stores. So far that hasn't happened...

[burgmark]

Originally Posted by Unplanned Tourist

I'm very sorry for her loss, but why is she blaming others when she was clearly negligent by leaving her young children alone, unattended in the car?

Sometimes it's hard to accept that your own negligence was the root cause of a terrible event.

Its a sad situation, but I agree, she has to accept most of the responsibility because she left her children. There are stupid people in this world and if not a camp stove, maybe its a cigarette or some other item that causes the fire.

Bottom line, its never a good idea to leave children sleeping in the car unattended.

[Unplanned Tourist]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Personal Responsibility is surely lacking......but hey sue sue sue.
Point the blame away.

Sad to see that society has come to this, and common sense is disappearing.

[Bigceasar]

The idea that Walmart has liability due to their policies creating an illegal campground is interesting. When I owned parks there were numerous fire and zoning codes that applied to the park. There were stringent requirements that regulated how close together sites could be. Roads had to be accessible for fire and rescue. And there were requirements regarding registration so the authorized could get information on who was on site in case of an emergency. From a legal point of view Walmart encouraging overnight RV stays may, in fact, create hazards since the safety practices for RV facilities , written into code, are not adhered to by Walmart.

[TXiceman]

It all boils down to a lawyer who will sue anyone for anything, no matter how stupid or negligent you were in your own actions. People are taught not to assume personal responsibility but to blame someone else.

Ken

[Solo_RV_Guy]

Originally Posted by Bigceasar

The idea that Walmart has liability due to their policies creating an illegal campground is interesting. When I owned parks there were numerous fire and zoning codes that applied to the park. There were stringent requirements that regulated how close together sites could be. Roads had to be accessible for fire and rescue. And there were requirements regarding registration so the authorized could get information on who was on site in case of an emergency. From a legal point of view Walmart encouraging overnight RV stays may, in fact, create hazards since the safety practices for RV facilities , written into code, are not adhered to by Walmart.

I think Walmart's intent was not to operate a campground but to provide overnight parking for RVing customers.

The actions of some RVers has gone beyond that concept, to essentially setting up a camp site. Eventually this will poison the well of corporate accommodation and it will be lost to us.

[TandW]

Originally Posted by Bigceasar

The idea that Walmart has liability due to their policies creating an illegal campground is interesting. When I owned parks there were numerous fire and zoning codes that applied to the park. There were stringent requirements that regulated how close together sites could be. Roads had to be accessible for fire and rescue. And there were requirements regarding registration so the authorized could get information on who was on site in case of an emergency. From a legal point of view Walmart encouraging overnight RV stays may, in fact, create hazards since the safety practices for RV facilities , written into code, are not adhered to by Walmart.

Using this logic results in every rest stop in America being in some sort of violation. So would parking areas in the many RV and truck fueling stations. How far should we take this?