41

Ok, so her friend was an idiot. But so was the girl who owned the nano. Why would you give your friend your iPod to listen to and then just walk away? I would wait until she was finished and then take it back. Oh wait, darn the female body’s inability to hold their bladder.

Posted by Nobody on August 17, 2006 at 9:06 PM (PDT)

42

Before I got an iPod my friend would let me borrow his 4 gb nano all the time during lunch and walk away.  I never lost or stole it because he was a good friend and I never left it anywhere unattended.  If Stephanie did steal it it sounds like they weren’t to good of friends in the first place.  But if she is telling the truth she is ultra stupid for putting it back on the desk and also leaving the room.  She could have just as easily took it to wherever she was going.

Posted by David on August 17, 2006 at 11:00 PM (PDT)

43

Lemme leave my EXPENSIVE and in HIGH DEMAND electronic gadget in PLAIN VIEW of everyone while I LEAVE THE ROOM. Hopefully no-one will take it.

Remember, it’s a teenager.

And if they do, I will SUE THEM to compensate for MY STUPIDITY.

I did something similarly as stupid when I was teen.  Nice, brand new Swiss watch that I didn’t want to get damaged while I was working in a warehouse.

Chalked it up as a very expensive learning situation…

Posted by Ron on August 18, 2006 at 12:23 AM (PDT)

44

Nobody, if you feel that way about lending your possesions to friends then I suggest you get new ones.

And as far as I know boys pee, too. This isn’t from first hand experience, I’m just assuming they do.

Posted by dinostars on August 18, 2006 at 8:57 AM (PDT)

45

I thins steve jobs stole it. Lets look at this logically. We are “supposed” to get new ipod models soon. This will create a surplus of old models in warehouses and store shelves. Therefore Steve needs people buying up this old models. Simple.

Posted by Fezzik on August 18, 2006 at 3:49 PM (PDT)

46

I would have sued Apple for creating the opportunity for this litigious event. I think I’ll personally sue them for the stress I’ve endured contemplating the matter.

Posted by Steve Bosell on August 18, 2006 at 4:19 PM (PDT)

47

I am the mom who filed the lawsuit. I’d like to get in touch with someone from Ilounge so that I can set the record straight.

Posted by Melanie McCarthy on August 19, 2006 at 12:44 PM (PDT)

48

This is obviously the fault of both parties. Since two, obviously, negligent minor parties are associated; it is apparent that the parents should be filing the lawsuit against both the student and her parents. If a judge were to find the girl negligent, since she is a minor, her parents are to be held responsible. Since you are not sueing the responsible party, no retribution will be gained. The suit needs to be filed against both the student and her parents. Next, if the parents did not know this, how should her daughter know whether or not bringing an ipod to school is right. Third of all, as a Naperville resident, this entire incident relfects poorly upon our community. Citizens of our town can not work out issues between eachother? If someone set a shirt down at a store instead of returning it to the rack and it were then stolen, the store would not file suit against that person; it is the theif’s fault for stealing it. You, Mrs. Melanie McCarthy, should sue the teacher for not securing her classroom as well as Stephanie. for not properly securing the ipod. In addition, those tunes should be stored on the hard drive of your computer, not just the ipod. YOU STILL HAVE THESE TUNES IN YOUR POSSESION! There is no need to sue for their cost. I am sure you are angry that your daughter’s ipod was stolen, as would my parents. However, my parents would consider this a life lesson and move on. Now your daughter will probably be a pariah, before she even sets foot into high school, since you have blown this situation way out of proportion. As a highschooler, I could only immagine how hard of a time this situation will put her in. Good luck to you and your family as you try to raise Shannon in a beneficial living environment.

Posted by Joe on August 20, 2006 at 3:28 PM (PDT)

49

I agree with everything that guy just said. And look lady. This is the comment section for the purpose of our own discussion. If you want to set the record straight then post your own entry! We would love to read it. And since you weren’t there, then you will never have the entire story. I do not think that going through the comment section is the best way to contact the ilounge people, but thats just me.

Posted by John on August 20, 2006 at 6:47 PM (PDT)

50

simple solution…...............dont take it to school, as it should not be there anyway!

Posted by Steve on August 20, 2006 at 7:04 PM (PDT)

51

In my house if I came home crying my walkman was stolen ( yes I am an 80s child) my mom would say - “That is what you get for taking it to school” and then ground me for that. 

I live in DuPage County (where Naperville is.)—Great to see my tax dollars being wasted on something stupid.

A) Girl A should not have her IPOD at school
B) Girl B should not have jsut left it the desk when the girl was not around.

So they should aplit the cost. And the mother that filed the law suit should be smacked for wasting our judicial systmes time and our tax dollars!

Posted by TK on August 21, 2006 at 9:44 AM (PDT)

52

i kind of laugh at the people who are like,“school is for learning,you must pay attention to the teacher”.most people saying these things are adults now.there is no way that they were straight A students who never took their eyes off teacher.in my school,people just sit back in there chair,pretend to be listening,and turn on their ipod’s and other mp3 players and turn them up loud enough that they can’t hear the teacher.

Posted by Scott on August 21, 2006 at 3:43 PM (PDT)

53

Shannon brought the Ipod to school because it was her last day.Rules were relaxed. The teachers let them take pictures, listen to music, go to other classes to visit friends.I paid to file in small claims court, not taxpayers, even though I have worked and paid taxes non-stop for the last 24 years.Shannon trusts her friends and believes that if you make a mistake you take responsibility and make it right, that how she’s always treats her friends.Shannon worked for and saved up money for six months to buy this Ipod, it was 2 weeks old with a leather case.We tried several times to contact the Eicks but they just said “too bad it’s a lesson for Shannon.“After waiting eight weeks, and asking them for some sort of compromise,we filed in small claims.What else could we do? If you still have doubts, let me borrow something really expensive and return it when you’re not home.I’ll leave it on your front porch and if someone takes it you’ll just think oh well I learned a lesson.  Or would you?
Thanks
Melanie

Posted by Melanie McCarthy on August 21, 2006 at 6:16 PM (PDT)

54

I must say after first readig these stories (and they are all over the papers here) I thought the case was ridiculous ( I think most lawsuits are)and I sitll do, but I can see the reasoning behind it. 

I do agree with many here that IPods should not be allowed in school… they are there,,,,,and really is there anything of educational value going on the last day.

I think the girl that lost the Ipod is acting like a little snot running around posing for pictures for every paper in town with her NEW VIDEO IPOD.

Teenager or not - she knows the value of an IPOD, in one article and her dad said she already had her own stolen…....so she should have known better than leave it on a desk and walk away. Would she have left $200 in cash just sitting there?

At the very least the girls should split the cost of the IPOD the songs and what not - may be lost or hoepfully they are somewhere on her hard drive of the computer.

Melanie your daughter learned a hard lesson about hard work and trust. Sorry people (including me were so fast to judge). Hopefully a resolution will be worked out and somebody will do something stupid this first week of school to get her out of the headlines.

Posted by TK on August 22, 2006 at 6:19 AM (PDT)

55

No matter who is to blame legally, the truth is if you borrow something from someone you are responsible for it. And Stephanie knew this which is why she offered to pay for it in the first place. If you read other stories on the case she offerrd to pay for it and then never told her parents about it.  Now, daddy is coming to the rescue and offering every excuse to get he daughter out of it. It’s become personal to him, unfortunatly, he’s doing a disservice to his kid.  What happend to teaching your child to be responsible and accountable? And then what does he do…he buys his kid an Ipod video which she cheesily is holding in local papers.  Nice going dad, thats showing her…How do these people sleep at night?

Posted by Veronica on August 22, 2006 at 8:16 AM (PDT)

56

I am amazed at how many people here are so easy to blame the victim of this situation.

Do you also blame the rape victim for dressing too sedcutively?

When I was a teenager I loaned my cool things to my friends because I was proud of the things I worked for.  If the rule of law becomes “loaning and giving” are really the same thing,” we would never be able to share the things that bring us happiness with our friends and family without fear of never seeing the item again.

Is that the world youwant to live in?

Posted by Ryan Hill on August 23, 2006 at 5:36 AM (PDT)

57

I am sickened & sadden by this, for more reasons I have time to mention.
I realize the girl had a “right” to be able to take the ipod to school.  If that is the case ... why are we paying so much for our schools & our teachers? I don’t know about you, but since I live in the area, I pay a good amount in taxes.  Why - so kids can show up in class - not learn?  Why bother going to school at all?
Our judicial system is bogged down with more B.S. than we can talk about; then we bring things like this into court?  Can’t they settle this with out having to go & clog up the courts?  (Speaking of which, it sounds like mom might be looking for some money???? Not willing to reach a solution outside of court. )
My kids are NOT allowed to bring ANY type of electronics to school.  If they choose to bring something and it gets taken or lost, too bad , so sad; their lose.  (My son paid for his MP3 player AND his game boy S.P. and D.S.)
If the ipod was that important to her, maybe she should have thought about keeping it with her & not lending it out…..

Posted by td_1986 on August 24, 2006 at 3:41 PM (PDT)

58

FYI, one of the other large high schools in town has now banned iPods as a result of this incident.  They cited the high theft rate, so evidently at least the schools knew they were being stolen at a pretty good rate.  I’m hoping they didn’t simply say iPod and instead indicated something more generic like, MP3 player, etc.

My personal opinion is that things of this value don’t belong in school.  Schools are inherently insecure for personal property.  When I was in HS, it was expensive financial calculators at the time that were frequently stolen.  Or you were are a target if you carried a lot of cash, or in one case I knew of it was hard to get concert tickets.

It is very easy to underestimate the expense of devices like this, digital cameras are another example of something that is easily lost, broken, or stolen.  So I don’t think it’s unique to iPods.

My rule of thumb is that if it’s new, worth over $100, or hard to replace (any value), I wouldn’t bring it to school on a regular basis.

Also, the songs shouldn’t be in the suit, since they were licensed, not purchased, and they still have the license.

Either way, pretty sad all the way around.  And with gang problems on the rise in the area (as well as drugs and other things), I’d rather the courts be tied up with something else.  But then again, this is what small claims is for.  And there are lots of other relatively “bogus” things our city councils and other gvmt agencies waste their time on instead of taking care of bigger problems.

Posted by fm_1982 on August 26, 2006 at 7:04 AM (PDT)

59

I stole one and got caught they didn’t sue me though and now I have 3 days suspension but they were doing me a favor cuz I hate school hmm…yep my only regret is getting caught

Posted by Jasmine on June 14, 2007 at 7:38 AM (PDT)