Walmart Parking in Jeopardy??

**sourdough** · 08-13-2022, 09:57 AM

I know some of our members use Walmart parking lots on occasion to rest up. I just saw the linked article today that might change that availability. Some may have already seen it but I have not. Just an fyi;

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/new...04f6069d000cff

travelin texans · 08-13-2022, 10:10 AM

I see 2 issues here, #1 why she left her small children in the car & 2nd why sue Walmart, sue the knucklehead that started the fire.
Apparently the knucklehead has nothing so the ambulance chasing lawyer is suing WM.
I'm very sorry for her loss, but WM had nothing to do with it & she shouldn't have left the young children in the car alone.

**JRTJH** · 08-13-2022, 10:40 AM

The amount of the suit, $75,000 gives me cause to wonder about the lawyers as well as the motive.... In many states, there is a "cap" on the amount of a suit in special courts. Anything above that "cap" must be filed in a superior court and is usually more difficult to obtain a favorable outcome. I'd suspect that in "Minniesoda" there's a $75,000 cap on lawsuits that can be "administratively reviewed without legal challenges or without "triggering" legal rights for the defendant.....

I'd guess there's a reason for the specific amount, surely the death of a child and "disfigurment" of another child rise to a level greater than $75,000.....

That amount wouldn't even begin to cover medical costs for pediatric burn treatment...

That said, in our travels this year, I've seen fewer RV's parked in WalMart lots than in the past. I just concluded that there's fewer people willing to sleep without the comforts afforded by hookups. It's been "hotter than heck" most places, driving many/most people to seek a way to run their air conditioning rather than "rough it at "Camp WalMart".....

**sourdough** · 08-13-2022, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelin texans

I see 2 issues here, #1 why she left her small children in the car & 2nd why sue Walmart, sue the knucklehead that started the fire.
Apparently the knucklehead has nothing so the ambulance chasing lawyer is suing WM.
I'm very sorry for her loss, but WM had nothing to do with it & she shouldn't have left the young children in the car alone.

I agree. This kind of person is what kills good intentions and good will from others. Sort of like boondocking in a NF and a tree falls on you, what are you going to do, sue the federal government looking for a payout? I could go on about what the woman did/didn't do but I'm afraid it may have negative consequences for using their parking.

peanut · 08-13-2022, 11:13 AM

Walmart parking is already on it's way out. I know of very few Walmart's in Oregon or California that still allow it.

A lot of local municipalities - especially in California - have enacted codes forbidding it so corporate or the individual managers have no say so at all. At other locations the individual stores have forbid it for various reasons - - noise - homeless camps (staying forever) - security issues - liability issues, etc..

**JRTJH** · 08-13-2022, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peanut

Walmart parking is already on it's way out. I know of very few Walmart's in Oregon or California that still allow it.

A lot of local municipalities - especially in California - have enacted codes forbidding it so corporate or the individual managers have no say so at all. At other locations the individual stores have forbid it for various reasons - - noise - homeless camps (staying forever) - security issues - liability issues, etc..

There are problems with abuse of any "good will gesture"... Homeless encampments, drug use/abuse at the site are just a couple of those considerations.

Then, there's the "local politicians who want to protect local businesses. With "free parking at WalMart, who in their right mind would pay to camp in a locally owned campground" <said tongue in cheek> ??? So, on the surface, it becomes the argument about "big international corporations like WalMart" stealing profits from the local campground owned by "mom and pop"..... So, the local government enacts an ordinance prohibiting overnight parking at WalMart....

That doesn't increase income at the local campground, it just causes RV'ers to drive to the next town that isn't quite as "protective of local businesses"....

Truth be told, few people overnight at WalMart because it's free...

Usually, it's because that campground is 10 miles down a 2 lane road that's time consuming to get to when WalMart is right by the interstate and we're here already because we needed milk and bread and it's 6PM and we're tired.

Granted, there are "WalMart campers" that only travel from WalMart to WalMart, some even set up camp complete with grills, awning and folding chairs/patio mats, but most, either pull into a rest area, crash for a few hours or park on the outskirts of a WalMart parking lot (with permission of the store management), crash for a few hours and are gone in the morning, usually before the parking lot sweeper shows up at 6 AM.

Then, there's the RV'er who wouldn't even consider parking at some place like a WalMart and exclusively make reservations at campgrounds, arrive after checkin, pay their fees, use the campground facilities and are gone "before the parking lot sweeper shows up at 6 AM....

IMO, neither is 'exclusively correct" and both have a space "at the table of RV'ing... YMMV

GMH · 08-13-2022, 02:41 PM

I have to wonder why a 9 year old and a 6 year old are unable to exit a burning vehicle?

**hankpage** · 08-13-2022, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMH

I have to wonder why a 9 year old and a 6 year old are unable to exit a burning vehicle?

^^^^^ Ditto ^^^^ If anything, how do you keep them in the car???

wiredgeorge · 08-13-2022, 04:16 PM

The caravan isn't a camping vehicle I think and perhaps momma wanted her kids to be safe so locked them in? Perhaps they had child locks and the kids couln't unlock them? I don't know about these things but leaving two kids in a minivan while you shop seems like negligence to me. The idiot who caused the fire was also culpable in this tragedy.

vampress_me · 08-13-2022, 05:13 PM

This happened in the idiotic state we live in, unfortunately. So, I’ve heard about it on the news when it happened, and then in the STrib newspaper now when her lawsuit came out. Personally, makes me wonder what kind of mother she really is when she’s just fine leaving a 6 and 9 year old in her car to go in a store shopping in the Twin Cities. You cannot leave a dog in a vehicle down there without someone breaking in and stealing it, much less just stealing the car itself. Plus, one of the original stories when it happened said she was in the store for close to an hour when this happened…. Not exactly upstanding mother material.

The part that made me laugh in a sad, sad way - she’s suing Walmart for allowing camping overnight. The guy whose vehicle started on fire had moved from a different area of the parking lot where he was camping to a spot next to her vehicle. Yep, he was an idiot for putting a stove away hot and putting bedding on it, no question there. But, how do you sue Walmart for it when any vehicle next to her car could have caught fire from a (pick any cause under the sun) bad battery, fuel leak on a hot part of the car, etc. that hadn’t been camping there? For her bad parenting to potentially cause a loss of camping that some people like for overnight stays is asinine. But, welcome to MN. The idiots run free here…or just run the state…

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