Opinion ID: 2691956
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Undue-restraint cause of action

Text: {¶ 33} The final issue is whether a plaintiff may bring a cause of action for undue restraint under R.C. 2935.041(A), which creates a privilege for a merchant to detain an individual in a reasonable manner and for a reasonable 11 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO length of time when the merchant has probable cause to believe that the individual is shoplifting. In her undue-restraint claim, Niskanen alleged that Giant Eagle exceeded its rights under this statute by using unreasonable forms of restraint on Paul for an unreasonable amount of time. Giant Eagle argues here that this privilege for merchants cannot be used as a sword against them, and thus Niskanen was not entitled to assert a cause of action grounded in R.C. 2935.041. {¶ 34} However, Giant Eagle has raised this argument for the first time in this court, and it is well settled that “[a] party who fails to raise an argument in the court below waives his or her right to raise it here.” State ex rel. Zollner v. Indus. Comm. (1993), 66 Ohio St.3d 276, 278, 611 N.E.2d 830. We therefore decline to consider this issue.