Which store is liable for injury of a shoplifter if a guard from one store follows a shoplifter to another store and apprehends him upon his escape?

Answer 1

Liability depends on all of the fact of the case, not just the overall scenario. It may also depend upon whether the particular State has addressed the rights of shop owners related to shoplifters, and/or whether State Appeals Courts have ruled on their relative rights. Finally, the jury is the finder of the relevant legal facts. It would likely be quite difficult to get a jury to find that a shop owner owes damages to a "shoplifter" who, by definition, was stealing from him. Related to the second shop owner, since there is no indication about the causal factors of any injury, where it occurred, and other relevant information, again, the lack of factual information prevents any discussion of possible liability.