Kids pool hopping

[disykat]

Good for him!

I agree, but now he'd probably be sued for stealing their clothes, child abuse, peeping Tom, or some other nonsense.

 

[WDSearcher]

Yes they can be arrested. it is YOUR HOME. They have no right to be there. I don't see how that could even be a question. I would equate it to breaking into my house and rading the fride.

And that was my question .... if the gate was unlocked, how is it the same as "breaking into my house and raiding the fridge"?

The info you quoted about "castle law" (am I the only one who read that and instantly thought of Nathan Fillion ... ? ) explained it. Thank you.

 

[mhsjax]

And that was my question .... if the gate was unlocked, how is it the same as "breaking into my house and raiding the fridge"?

The info you quoted about "castle law" (am I the only one who read that and instantly thought of Nathan Fillion ... ? ) explained it. Thank you.

If your car is unlocked and they steal something or take it for a joy ride and bring it back unharmed, it is still against the law. How is it different from a gate being unlocked and swimming in their pool.

 

[Poppinsme]

I have a good pool story.

Our Friends down the street have a very nice in ground pool. Wish it was mine.
Anyway they were having trouble with teenage boys jumping the fence and swimming late at night.
My Friend works day shift and her DH works nights at a bakery. She was afraid to confront these boys.
So one night about 2 weeks ago she had enough and walked out the back door nude holding a towel.
She told them "Mind if I join you"? She is an overweight 60 year old lady.
These boys took off faster then a man eating at a buffet.
Problem solved. They haven't been back.

 

[Ceila]

This happened at one of my very best friend's home. She and her family were on vacation in Hawaii. Here, everyone has 6 ft fences with locks around the property.

Some kids pushed garbage cans up against the 6 ft fence and climbed it. One of them drowned. The girl who drowned was from Texas and was visiting her cousins here for the summer.

The parents sued of course. My friend has an umbrella policy; I have no idea if a settlement was reached.

That's ridiculous! I hope they didn't have to pay anything.

I completely understand the need to protect people from falling into a pool (fencing, locks), and to some degree I understand the need to discourage kids from "attractive nuisances" (although I think some of this goes too far). However, I would never understand someone being held liable when others work to bypass the safeguards in place and then end up injured or dead.

 

[WDSearcher]

If your car is unlocked and they steal something or take it for a joy ride and bring it back unharmed, it is still against the law. How is it different from a gate being unlocked and swimming in their pool.

In the case of the unlocked car with something stolen, it's kind of like leaving things in your stroller when you on on a ride. How many times have people on the DIS said that they left stuff in their stroller at WDW and couldn't believe it got stolen. And then all the responses are, "Well ... what did you expect? You left it unattended and visible in the stroller. It's your own fault!" How is having something stolen from an unlocked car any different?

In the case of a neighborhood kid taking a dip in your pool, you might be able to claim trespassing, but it's not the same thing as a joyride. No one took your pool from your yard and swam in it and then brought it back. No one physically removed your pool. They walked into your unlocked yard and took a swim. In some cities, you would need to have a "No Trespassing" sign posted or you would need to have a locked gate in order to prove that you did not want nor allow the kid (or anyone else you did not expressly invite and let in) to be there. In some areas, a lawyer could easily get past it by saying, "There was no sign posted, and the gate was open" and poof! you've got "implied permission".

I didn't know what the legalities of that were in the OP's part of the country, which is why I asked. Didn't say it was right, wrong, legal, illegal. Just asking if a posted sign or a locked gate was necessary in their area to actually file trespassing charges.

 

[WDSearcher]

I have a good pool story.

Our Friends down the street have a very nice in ground pool. Wish it was mine.
Anyway they were having trouble with teenage boys jumping the fence and swimming late at night.
My Friend works day shift and her DH works nights at a bakery. She was afraid to confront these boys.
So one night about 2 weeks ago she had enough and walked out the back door nude holding a towel.
She told them "Mind if I join you"? She is an overweight 60 year old lady.
These boys took off faster then a man eating at a buffet.
Problem solved. They haven't been back.

She was "afraid to confront these boys" but not afraid to stand in front of them naked? Not sure I believe your story.

But either way ... what would she have done if they'd said, "Yeah, sure ... come on down?" Or if they stripped off their swim trunks and said, "Great -- we'll join you!" Or if one of them called the police and reported indecent exposure to a minor (which they were, if they were teenagers).

Your friend could have gotten in quite a lot of trouble. Kind of a stupid thing to do, if in fact it's true.

 

[sbell111]

In general, if a property does not have 'no trespassing' signs, a person can not be guilty of trespassing unless they either refuse to leave when asked or return after being told to stay away. Local laws apply.

 

[arminnie]

No one took your pool from your yard and swam in it and then brought it back. No one physically removed your pool.

Yeah but they peed in it. That reason enough to need killin'.

 

[bumbershoot]

OP I feel for you! And I hope they don't come back.

A friend of mine lives in Texas on a golf course. They have strict rules, and one of the rules is that their fence can't really be a fence to keep anyone out, it has to be low and pretty. They have a pool. Her husband works on oilrigs and is gone often (especially now since he's on the task force for the spill). And she's woken to people swimming in her pool.

Now how stupid does a person have to be, in TEXAS of all places, to do such a thing, really? Where so many people have guns??? But still, these people were doing it.

She hasn't mentioned it recently, but I think they probably got a locking cover on the pool, since they have a 2 year old who came along since this problem started. And a locking cover will help to keep people out, I imagine.

Remember we live in a society that sues (and wins with lots of support and justification) over coffee that is too hot. Seems stupid, but people's attitudes never cease to amaze me.

People "back in the day" didn't sue for every little thing that happened. Remember McDonalds and hot coffee?

The whole thing was quoted, but because I know that many people skim...


180 degrees. Coffee is meant to be drunk. Drank? Imbibed, whatever. You're supposed to drink 180 degree coffee? And in '92 they were still using styrofoam in many places, so you couldn't really feel how hot something was through the styrofoam.

Anyway, 3rd degree burns on a 79 year old's genitalia.

That's NOT to be expected from something one is meant to DRINK.

She won because they were liable. The actual amount she won will never be known, as the final result was closed. However, before it was closed, the punitive amount of money was lowered by 20% to reflect her amount of responsibility. The facts and evidence in the case show that McDs had 80% of that responsibility. She was not the only one telling them that the coffee was too hot. McDs knew it, and purposely kept it that hot. After this happened, they lowered the temperature that it was kept at. They were at fault, they were liable. It was a GOOD lawsuit. One that was worthy.

I don't know about yours, but I remember my family's car back in 92. There were NO cup holders in it like there are today. We had a big ole Celebrity station wagon, and if you had to put something in your drink at the time it went between your knees. Most of my friends' cars didn't have them either, seemed like they were just starting to be introduced. Today we have cup holders and I'm glad for them. Back then, not so much.

Such a good point!

It's so easy to forget how different things were just back in '92. I imagine that feeling is how my mom felt about the 60s when I was a teen in the 80s...but it was just right then, so close I can touch it! Meanwhile I felt like it was a million years ago, but the reality is that it wasn't that long before. '92 feels like just yesterday, but things were very very different, and cup holders in cars (unless you had a luxury vehicle) just weren't standard like they are now.

I might be in the minority here, but I wouldn't think it's the biggest problem in the world. What's wrong with letting the kids swim in the pool on a hot day?

I remember as a kid, anyone who treated us (kids) like actual people, even if we did something wrong, got treated with a LOT more respect. Anyone who would have called the cops or had been a total jerk would have had to pay for that later. I never did it, I didn't need to, there were plenty of other takers on that. I just can imagine my friend Jimmy, in his 7th grade form, egging someone's car just because they were a jerk to him. Or sort of the opposite, skipping a person's (who treated him nicely) house in a TPing stint.

You live in the town that I was married in. August of that year was sick and wrong hot. I dropped a huge amount of water weight in just that one day, thanks to the heat and my corset and big poofy gown So, in '03, after our wedding, what if DH and I just came into your neighborhood, stripped off our wedding clothes, and jumped into your pool? Would that have been welcome to you?????


And what lovely friends! NOT the type I would have hung out with. I have always been very concerned with getting in trouble, and being with friends who were breaking rules and laws could have gotten me into trouble.

We didn't have a pool, and we had a tiny, hot house, and for some unknown reason, just one big box fan. We stifled during the summers, and it was lovely when our friends with pools would call and invite us over. Even with friends we didn't just go barging over (of course that would have involved driving, as San Jose is big and I lived in a more rural part of it). We waited to be invited. As everyone should do.

I wouldn't have been friends with people who TPd, because even back then I thought of the huge amounts of work it would take to clean it up. While walking our dog I would sometimes see a house that had been TPd, and hated that someone had done it. It's just so stinkin' rude.

Sure it is rude. But this is kids that is being discussed. I guess like many many many people out there, you've obviously forgotten that you were once a kid as well.

I remember very well being a kid. I waited to be invited.

That's good. Might be even more interesting in today's world with all the phones that take pictures.

OK that would be a bad idea if they were minors....

In the case of the unlocked car with something stolen, it's kind of like leaving things in your stroller when you on on a ride. How many times have people on the DIS said that they left stuff in their stroller at WDW and couldn't believe it got stolen. And then all the responses are, "Well ... what did you expect? You left it unattended and visible in the stroller. It's your own fault!" How is having something stolen from an unlocked car any different?

OK, if I leave something in a stroller, it's my fault to have done that. But it's MORE the fault of the person who stole my stuff. And listen, I've had things stolen from the strollers! I know what it feels like. To feel like a prize idiot because you left your son's new hat, and that you thought that putting it under an old scrungy sweatshirt would somehow protect it. But to feel ANGER, righteous anger, at the person who stole it. Because if they'd stolen the sweatshirt, maybe I could think "they were poor and cold, and they needed it". But a pirate hat? NOPE. Heck, if they'd stolen my brother's old Duke cap which was under the sweatshirt with the pirate hat, that could be reasoned..."they are poor and bald and their scalp is burning". But again, pirate hat. No. No one NEEDS a pirate hat, not even DS.

If I leave my house unlocked, it's pretty unlikely that on that day a burglar will choose that day to come by and try the door. But if I do, it's still almost entirely on the person who came in and robbed me. Leaving a stroller full of stuff is a bit MORE likely to be noticed by a burglar, and prudence tells me that I shouldn't put all that stuff out in plain sight.

She was "afraid to confront these boys" but not afraid to stand in front of them naked? Not sure I believe your story.

Sounds like she GOT the guts to confront them.





Anyway, OP, I feel for you, and hope that the lock helps. Hey, maybe you could call the non-emergency number of your local police force, and ask what you need to do?

 

[whatcateydid]

This happened at one of my very best friend's home. She and her family were on vacation in Hawaii. Here, everyone has 6 ft fences with locks around the property.

Some kids pushed garbage cans up against the 6 ft fence and climbed it. One of them drowned. The girl who drowned was from Texas and was visiting her cousins here for the summer.

The parents sued of course. My friend has an umbrella policy; I have no idea if a settlement was reached.

Excuse my British naivety, but it seems totally unreasonable that your friend could be sued over something that happened because her well protected property was broken into while she was away from home. How is that fair? I really hope that she wasn't too badly affected by this.

 

[DebbieB]

Excuse my British naivety, but it seems totally unreasonable that your friend could be sued over something that happened because her well protected property was broken into while she was away from home. How is that fair? I really hope that she wasn't too badly affected by this.

When kids are involved, the law tends to work in their favor even if they were tresspassing.

See this link for a definition of "attractive nuisance":

http://definitions.uslegal.com/a/attractive-nuisance/

 

[princessmom29]

NY is one of those states, recently, one of our local well-loved teachers was in Buffalo to attend a jack/jill baby shower for good friends. He was shot and killed when found in the next door neighbors' house (which the homeowners' left unlocked); and didn't answer their calls to leave. They checked his blood levels which showed he was drunk. They think he went to bed with his wife, sleepwalked out the house and got lost, going into the neighbors' home instead of his friends. The homeowner was not charged bc of this law. It was very sad.

Iti s sad,and they shouldn't have left the house unlocked, but what if he ahd been someone with the intent to do them harm? I feel safer knowing I can defend myself if need be.

And that was my question .... if the gate was unlocked, how is it the same as "breaking into my house and raiding the fridge"?

The info you quoted about "castle law" (am I the only one who read that and instantly thought of Nathan Fillion ... ? ) explained it. Thank you.

My porperty is my property, olcked or not it is still a crime to steal it.

Excuse my British naivety, but it seems totally unreasonable that your friend could be sued over something that happened because her well protected property was broken into while she was away from home. How is that fair? I really hope that she wasn't too badly affected by this.

Oh, it happens. All the time. Itdoesn't even have to be kids. If it happens on your porperty you are liable for it. Peroid. My in laws spwnt thousands posting no trespassing signs on thier property to comply with the law in their state. ther are required every 50 yards along the porperty line if the property is over a certian size, otherwise trespassers cannot be criminally charged. They had to post the porperty and agree to prosecute anyone trespassing in order to get the porperty insured because of the lawsuit risk.

 

[3DisneyBuggs]

OP here and happy to report no further pool incidents. We lock the gate every night and the motion lights are on. Hoping it stays this way!!

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

OP here and happy to report no further pool incidents. We lock the gate every night and the motion lights are on. Hoping it stays this way!!

Thanks for posting back. Hope it stays quiet back there.

 

[cm8]

Get Barbed wire for your pool fence, 6 feet is good. Leave the gate open and once they are all in, sneak out and lock them in the pool area. Leave them there for a day, if they fall asleep, spray them with a hose.

, that was really funny. I agree with the other posters who said that we did not go into or get into anything that was not ours and or had not been invited into. That is really rude and sad that the home owner would be liable just because someone else thought that what they wanted was more important, then the rights of the home owner.

What if she had threatened them with a gun fearing for her life? What if.............never mind............. Anyhow, I think we all know what it was like to be a child, but now days kids are not playing the way we did. The parents need to instruct their children on respecting other peoples things. The next time they decided to "pool hop" them may very well get more than a talking too!!!