Iowa Code 645.3 – Liability
Current as of: 2023 | Check for updates
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1. A person who knowingly and without claim of right wrongfully appropriates, takes possession of, or alters the price indicia of merchandise of a mercantile establishment without the consent of the owner and with the intent to convert the merchandise to the person’s own use without having paid the full purchase price for it, is liable for:
a. The return of the merchandise or the purchase price of the merchandise, provided that the merchandise is not evidence in a criminal proceeding under chapter 714.
b. Actual damages for any decrease in value of the merchandise returned.
c. The greater of fifty dollars or actual costs, not to exceed two hundred dollars, incurred by the owner in recovering the merchandise or damages pursuant to this chapter.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 645.3
- Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Mercantile establishment: includes any place where merchandise is displayed, held, or offered for sale, either retail or wholesale. See Iowa Code 645.1
- Merchandise: includes any object, ware, good, commodity, or other similar item displayed or offered for sale. See Iowa Code 645.1
- Owner: means an owner of a mercantile establishment and includes a designated representative of the owner. See Iowa Code 645.1
- person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
2. Damages awarded under this section shall be reduced by any amount received by the owner pursuant to court ordered restitution under chapter 232A or 910.
3. The parent or parents of an unemancipated minor child under the age of eighteen years are liable for any judgment awarded against the child pursuant to subsection 1 in accordance with, and subject to the limits established in, section 613.16.