First Principles of Business Law

7. False imprisonment

7.1. Wrongfully depriving a person of liberty

Read the example below, and then answer the questions.

A, a store manager, sees B, a young shopper, take five items of clothing into a dressing room, but emerge with only three in her hand. Suspecting theft, and knowing the store detective is on a five-minute break, A closes and locks the front door of the shop. A lets other customers leave the store, but won't unlock the door for B. When the store detective arrives, a check reveals that B has no hidden items and she is allowed to leave. The two missing items are later found in the dressing room.

1. Is being detained in these circumstances, for only about five minutes, sufficient to constitute false imprisonment of B?

2. Would it make a difference to B's claim of false imprisonment if there was a fire exit in the store that had remained unlocked throughout the incident described?

3. Would it have been false imprisonment if A had not locked the door, but had used vague threats of legal consequences to make B stay until the security guard returned?