Who should pay for broken dishes in a cafe or restaurant?

You came to a cafe or restaurant with the goal of spending a pleasant evening with relatives or friends, or maybe you just popped in for lunch. One careless movement - and dishes fall from the set table and break with a loud clang. Naturally, the administration of the establishment, not wanting to incur additional losses, makes a claim and forces the careless visitor to pay. In most cases, people agree and obediently pay the required amount of money. But few people know that such claims are not always justified, and visitors are not always obliged to do so!

Law

The Civil Code, Article 213 states that citizens and legal entities may own any property, the ownership of which is not prohibited.

Article 211 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the risk of accidental loss or accidental damage to property is borne by its owner, unless otherwise provided by law or contract.

By visiting a cafe or restaurant, according to Article 426 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, we enter into a public agreement with the owner of the establishment, who in some cases actually has the right to demand compensation from you for damages. This issue is quite controversial and difficult. Let's go in order.

Significance of damage caused

The next criterion for assessing damage to property as a crime under Article 167 of the Code is the significance of the damage caused. This criterion is evaluative. At the same time, for citizens it has a minimum value of five thousand. When assessing the damage caused to organizations, their economic and financial condition and other factors are taken into account.

When calculating the degree of harm caused, the amount reflecting lost profits is not included, regardless of its size. The damage assessment is expressed in the value of the damaged property, taking into account the degree of natural wear and tear and depreciation (if the item was in use). At the same time, compensation is carried out taking into account all losses caused to the owner of the property, including those costs that are not taken into account when qualifying the offense.

When is an employee of an establishment at fault?

In the case of a waiter tripping or failing to hold the tray, everything is clear. But here’s another case: you, having started talking, or in a fit of emotion, knocked over your device, which was empty as unnecessary. Who is guilty? The direct responsibility of the waiter is to remove dishes from the table as they are emptied. If the establishment’s staff for some reason was in no hurry to serve you, then this is not your problem, but the waiter’s. If you are required to pay for breaking such dishes, then invite the administrator and ask him the appropriate question. If this does not work, ask to see the local regulations of the establishment, which list the responsibilities of the waiter. You may be surprised yourself that you will be right.

Differences between damage and destruction

When causing damage to property, it is important to distinguish between the concepts of damage and destruction of property. Damage is damage to someone else’s property, due to which the property can be used for its intended purpose, despite its damaged condition, or can be restored to its original condition.

Destruction is the rendering of someone else's property completely unsuitable for use, due to which it is not possible to use it for its intended purpose. For example, if a vehicle was taken to a car repair shop for repairs, but the mechanics broke the handle on the door during the work, this is damage. If a car is damaged in an accident for an amount equal to or greater than its value, this is considered destruction.

When is the visitor to blame?

I believe that it makes no sense to talk about the deliberate destruction of the property of a catering establishment. If someone intentionally broke dishes or broke tables and chairs, he must understand that in addition to financial compensation for such harm, he may face both administrative and criminal liability, depending on the damage caused.

Article 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes that harm caused to the person or property of a citizen, as well as harm caused to the property of a legal entity, is subject to compensation in full by the person who caused the harm. In this case, harm can be caused not only intentionally, but also through negligence. In this case, will the visitor respond in rubles?

What is property damage and how to punish an employee for damaging company property?

The law defines property damage as complete or partial damage to someone else's property. The company's fixed or working capital suffers significant damage, making their further use at the enterprise impossible or extremely difficult.

Damage may include the following:

deterioration of the company's property;
reduction in the amount of fixed or working capital;
the emergence of a need for additional payments to the state or contractors (for example, fines to suppliers).

Important! It does not matter whether the damaged valuables are owned by the hiring company or rented.

Liability arises for damage caused to property knowingly or through negligence. It can be expressed in the following forms:

criminal (if a crime is discovered);
administrative (if the amount of losses incurred does not exceed 2,500 rubles);
disciplinary (the management of the company determines the punishment of the culprit in the form of a reprimand, dismissal, etc.);
material (a set amount is recovered from the guilty employee to cover the damage caused).

Financial liability does not exclude the possibility of criminal and disciplinary liability. Even if the employee’s employment contract is terminated, he is obliged to compensate the losses of the former employer in accordance with current legislation.

Who will prove your guilt?

This is another controversial issue. Each side will defend its position. Only the court can put an end to the resolution of the dispute.

Another question that often arises in such cases is the amount of compensation claimed by the establishment for broken dishes. In some cafes and restaurants (usually in the menu) you can see that for broken dishes the visitor will be charged double or even triple the price.

Such a demand by the institution for compensation for damages in a larger amount is, of course, illegal. If the visitor admits his guilt in causing harm, but does not agree with the amount, he has every right to refuse to compensate for the damage in the specified amount.

In such a situation, the institution will need to confirm in court the validity of the size of the stated claim.

The essence of the crime

Art. 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation considers the corresponding type of offense in the form of damage to other people's things or property in the form of destruction or damage. The main feature is its intentional illegality.

In order to qualify causing damage to property as a crime under the first part of this article, it is necessary that there be a significant amount of damage caused. Then one of six types of punishment is applied:

Payment of a fine of no more than forty thousand Russian rubles, either calculated within the limits of earnings for three months at the place of official employment of the convicted person, or in the amount of other income for the same period.
Compulsory labor activity for no more than fifteen days (calendar).
Labor correctional activity for no more than one year.
Forced labor activity for no more than two years.
Arrest for ninety days or less.
Deprivation of a citizen's liberty for no more than twenty-four months.

The court has the right to choose either one sanction or two at the same time (any of the above sanctions plus payment of a fine).

If the intentional damage to property specified in the article was committed by any of the socially dangerous methods (arson, explosion, etc.), or the purpose of the damage was the presence of hooligan motives, or as a result of these actions a person died due to negligence (other grave consequences occurred), the number The types of sanctions measures are decreasing (only forced labor and deprivation of a citizen’s freedom remain), but their duration is increasing (reaching five years in each case).

How to proceed?

If you do not agree with the amount of damage, then ask for documented proof of the cost of the broken dishes.
Enlist the help of two or three witnesses to the incident.
Leave an entry in the book of reviews and suggestions about what happened, describing the situation in detail but concisely and indicating the reasons why you do not agree to compensate for the damage.
Request that the administration of the establishment draw up an act of damage to property indicating its value, in which you must describe your vision of what happened, as well as the arguments of your innocence.
Inform the administration of the establishment that you refuse to compensate for the damage if you do not agree with its amount or do not admit your guilt. Let them go to court.

Objective side and cause-and-effect relationship

The objective side of a crime in the form of causing damage to property is the action itself, the consequences of which led to damage to property, its destruction, and violation of integrity.

In exceptional cases, the objective side is inaction. For example, if a fire broke out while the grass was burning, and the arsonist did not put it out. This situation will constitute intentional damage to the property of another person.

The negative consequence in this case is the infliction of damage on a large (significant) scale when converted into monetary equivalent.

Main

First: in any case, if you have broken, broke or damaged something and have not found a common language with the administration of the establishment, remember that no one (including the police) can force you to pay the amount of compensation for damage except by a court decision .

Second: by virtue of Article 211 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation: “The risk of accidental death or accidental damage to property is borne by its owner, unless otherwise provided by law or contract.” That is, if your guilt is not proven, then all costs associated with damage to the property of a cafe or restaurant are borne by its owner.

I wish everyone a good day and a great mood!

Liability for damage to property

Responsibility for damage to the employer's valuables is discussed in Articles 241-243 of the Labor Code. The regulatory document identifies two types of it:

limited - the employee repays losses within the average salary per month;
full – the employee pays 100% of the cost of destroyed or damaged property.

Cases in which it is possible to hold an employee fully liable are prescribed in Art. 243 Labor Code of the Russian Federation. These include:

damage to valuables under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
causing damage to the company's assets when committing illegal actions;
the presence in the employment contract of clauses on full responsibility (for example, the head of an enterprise, the director of a store);
identifying shortages of entrusted valuables;
the fact of disclosure of entrusted trade secrets;
causing damage to property outside of working hours.

Important! The employee only compensates for actual damage to the company's fixed or current assets. Lost profits are not considered property damage and do not imply deductions from the employee.

In other cases not mentioned in the legislation, only limited compensation for damage is possible.

An exhaustive list of employees who bear full financial responsibility is given in Resolution of the Ministry of Labor No. 85 of 2002. It is not subject to broad interpretation. If a specific specialty is not named in the document, and the employing company has entered into an agreement with the employee on full financial liability, the document has no legal force and is considered void.

Elements of the investigation

The process of preliminary investigation of cases of damage to someone else's property includes the following elements:

choosing a method and method for researching a case;
initiation of a criminal case;
asking the main questions;
priority investigative actions;
subsequent investigative actions.

Each item on the list is required for a comprehensive investigation of the case.

A case is initiated if there is a statement from the victim, testimony of witnesses or in connection with a report in the media. A case is opened urgently in the following situations:

There was harm to health, or the action resulted in death.
There are all the signs of an explosion or arson with intent.
There are suspicions that by this action the criminals are hiding another criminal offense.
The damage is particularly large.

Consideration of investigative issues

To clarify the main reasons for the commission of an offense and establish the corpus delicti, it is necessary to answer the main questions posed by the investigation:

what are the exact circumstances of the crime committed (place, time, etc.);
who is the owner of the damaged item;
what kind of property is damaged;
what is the extent of the damage caused to the victim;
are there any casualties?
what are the motives and method of the crime;
who is the culprit;
what is the characteristic of the offender or group of offenders.

The answers to these questions together make it possible to build a complete picture of the crime.

The investigation of criminal offenses under Article 167 of the Criminal Code includes many important stages due to the complexity of qualifying such crimes. Therefore, in most cases it is not immediately possible to prosecute such crimes.

Court practice under Article 167

There are quite a lot of situations in which intentional damage to things occurs in conflict situations that arise between citizens. This is especially common among drivers on the road.

One of the well-known criminal cases is a conflict on the road between well-known subjects: deputy Igor Amural and former law enforcement officer Sergei Kovalenko.

Due to a conflict that occurred during an accident, one of the traffic participants caused intentional damage to the car of the second driver of the vehicle (part two of Article 167 of the Code). In response to this action, the second citizen caused the following types of harm to the opponent:

Slight harm to health.
Causing damage to an opponent's vehicle in response to the actions of the opponent (part one of this article).

Information about what crimes a particular participant was charged with was hidden from the public.

The case materials were submitted to the court, but were returned for further investigation due to insufficient evidence.

Law