Kincaid was not detained in Barclay’s Department Store. There is no detention if plaintiff is questioned in an open space, has the freedom to leave the area or if the plaintiff voluntarily submits to the detention, however, there is a detention if there is restraint by force or fear. In Kemp, the court found that the plaintiffs were not detained because they were not physically restrained nor threatened by the store’s security guard and because they agreed to follow the security guard to the security substation. Kemp v. Rouse-Atlanta Inc., 429 S.E.2d 264, 266 (Ga. App. 1993). The plaintiffs in Kemp were stopped by a security guard who asked them to show receipts for the items in their bag. Id. Since the plaintiffs could not produce receipts, the security guard asked them to follow him to the security substation; the plaintiffs agreed to follow him. …show more content…
In J.H. Harvey Co. the court held that there was no detention because restraint must be against the plaintiff’s will. J.H. Harvey Co. v. Speight, 322 S.E.2d 701, 702 (Ga. App. 1986). The plaintiff opened his jacket in order to clear any suspicion that he had been shoplifting, therefore, he surrendered his freedom and there can be no detention. Id. The court also found in J.H. Harvey that a plaintiff does not have to make an effort to escape, but there must be restraint by force or fear to establish a detention. Id. In Lord, the court also held that there was no detention because the plaintiff was stopped in the parking lot and voluntarily opened her purse at the request of the store’s assistant manager. Lord v. K-Mart Corp., 340 S.E.2d 225, 227 (Ga. App. 1986). The store manager followed the plaintiff out to the parking lot and questioned her about the items in her bag. Id. at 226.After she was questioned she voluntarily opened her purse for the manager to examine.