Just remember to immediately fall down if you happen to knock something off the shelf, and groan a few times and hold your back when the staff assist you to your feet.
IANAL, but I would expect the customer in the store has to practice some reasonable level of care. Knocking something over while walking through the aisles is one thing, but if you’re running or twirling or flailing your arms about, that would be something different. The first is expected behavior, and the second isn’t.
Did your overcoat leap off your body to assault this glassware? Let’s not mnce words – YOU knocked over the pricey glassware.
IANALawyer, but I can’t imagine the answer to the question wouldn’t vary from one jurisdiction to the next.
A civil court might assign differing degrees of responsibility to the parties, depending on the circumstances. You can’t assume that the shopper will always be assigned 100% of the fault for the damages.
Suppose I open a glassware shop, put all of the items on open shelves, leaving very narrow aisles. Plus I mark everything up by 500% and put a “You break it, you buy it!” sign on the wall.
You would be an exceptionally shrewd businessman, assuming you also `knew’ a few judges.
And, Boyo, have you really not been paying attention this whole time? This is obviously more complicated than you make it out to be, especially since it would be kicked into civil, not criminal, court.
I think you need a new overcoat.