Private Property?

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Im sure its been said somewhere around here before, but i was wondering what all constitutes private property? If a store owner asks you to leave because you are carrying or whatever and not to come back or else he will arrest you for tresspassing, obviously you cant go back there anymore, but what about the parking lot? How far do you have to go to not be tresspassing?

Are corporate stores such as wal-mart, best-buy, etc. considered private property?

I cant think of any other questions but maybe someone else will have one about private property.

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I come to think of "private property" as "if it's not mine, it's private property".

In otherwords, unless YOU rent it, bought it, or are paying for it, it's private property.

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What about a place like wal-mart which has a corporate policy that ALLOWS guns in the store. can a manager still tell you to leave and do you have to comply without repercussions even though the corporate policy says you can be there?

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It's not simply a matter of what is or is not private property but also what invitation or license has been issued to come onto the property. Looked at in a very simplified way:

private property, not open to the public = your home

private propterty, generally open to the public (perhaps with restrictions) = Wal*Mart

public property, not open to the public = CIA Headquarters

public property, generally open to the public = Route 7

You would need to statea specific factual case to get a definitive answer.

Distinguish between ownership and access.

PackininVB wrote:

Im sure its been said somewhere around here before, but i was wondering what all constitutes private property? If a store owner asks you to leave because you are carrying or whatever and not to come back or else he will arrest you for tresspassing, obviously you cant go back there anymore, but what about the parking lot? How far do you have to go to not be tresspassing?

Are corporate stores such as wal-mart, best-buy, etc. considered private property?

I cant think of any other questions but maybe someone else will have one about private property.

Click to expand...

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Well i had read where people had been in walmart and the uninformed manager tells them to leave, can they say, "no, im not leaving, its not your corporate policy" ? or would could they still get arrested for tresspassing even with their policy?

And if you did leave, can you stay in the parking lot? I got told by some best buy employees to leave (which after an email to their corporate offices i found out was not their policy) and i stayed in the parking lot waiting on my buddy and nobody said a thing.

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If you refuse to leave you can be charged with trespassing. Regardless of corporate policy, if he/she calls the police, you get in trouble. Now you may be able to get WalMart to drop the charge when it all gets sorted out.

The manager represents WalMart, the manager doesn't want a phone call from corporate asking him/her why they are throwing law abiding citizens out of the store. So when you get tossed out of a place complain to their corp. office. But to refuse to leave at the time, you are playing with fire. jmo

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PackininVB, it's never a good idea to press the issue just for the purpose of making a point if you aren't absolutely certain of your legal standing. Perhaps this is the crux of your issues.

I've never looked up the penalty for trespassing. Should I want to test the issue - that is, refusing to leave after being asked - I would avail myself of public records and familiarize myself with the law before acting out of bravado.

Just something you might consider


PackininVB wrote:

Well i had read where people had been in walmart and the uninformed manager tells them to leave, can they say, "no, im not leaving, its not your corporate policy" ? or would could they still get arrested for tresspassing even with their policy?

And if you did leave, can you stay in the parking lot? I got told by some best buy employees to leave (which after an email to their corporate offices i found out was not their policy) and i stayed in the parking lot waiting on my buddy and nobody said a thing.

Click to expand...

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I understand completely and wouldnt press the issue. Once when i was at Target, some cart-boy told me i couldnt take a gun in the store, i asked to talk to a mangaer and over the phone i educated her on the laws. She said shed rather me not carry but couldnt stop me. Now what if this kid had said no i couldnt talk to the manager or something and that i had to leave, would i have been in my right to tell him that im going to continue shopping and if he wants me to leave to have a manager come find me?

Who has the autority to tell you to leave? obviously a manager, what about some dumbass cashier? a 15 year old cart boy?

One other question i still have is the parking lot still considered the property of the store?

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I think that would depend on the situation. A standalone walmart can have you escorted from the parking lot if you refuse to leave (just ask the kids in their hondas). But from what I understand, most of the small strips are leased land. While some control is delegated to each store, none of them really own it.

think about the issues that would crop up if a single store in a strip mall decided to call the police everytime a white van parked in the lot because they had a policy against it. Would the police actually be willing or justified to remove the vehicle IF the owner had a valid reason for being in the parking lot (shopping at another store)?

With non-threatening issues in an apartment complex you have to have the management call to do anything about them...

this would seem to reflect something about public access lots. Your rights on leased land open to the public would definately be something to talk to a lawyer about.