My apartment leasing office signed for an insured, trackable package that was for me, but says they "lost" it! What can i do?

Dallas, TX Viewed 329 times. Posted 12 months ago in Landlord / Tenant

Hi all -- I recently bought a Christmas gift for someone that was to be delivered to my apartment. It was shipped via insured mail with tracking. I was not at home at the time the mail arrived, so someone in my apartment's leasing office signed for it. However, when I showed up at the leasing office to get the package last week, the girls there claimed they did not have the package. I made a number of phone calls and touched base with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), who gave me a copy of the receipt that showed an employee in the leasing office signed for it. When I obtained the receipt from the USPS and showed it to the leasing office, the leasing office admitted that someone on staff did sign for it, but essentially gave me the cold shoulder and said something to the effect of, "We're sorry we can't find your package. We're happy to accept packages on behalf of residents, but we will not be held responsible for the package in the event of theft or damage."

Again, I have the postal receipt proving that an employee in the leasing office signed for the package. What I don't have is proof of who in the leasing office made the package "disappear." There are multiple people that work in that office, and unfortunately, any number of things could have happened to it. I still think it was stolen (as opposed to missing), but who knows. Ultimately, is it the responsibility of the individual that signed for it to ensure that I get the package, or can the blame fall on the leasing office as an entire entity?

Has anyone else run into a situation like this where someone in your building signed for your package, but then it went missing or stolen? What recourse is there for this, if any? I'm annoyed by the "tough luck" response that the leasing office gave me. I don't know who's supposed to be on the hook for this -- the USPS since they didn't drop the package off with me personally, or the leasing office, since they accepted the package and then made it disappear. However, the leasing office denies responsibility for the package, and states that their policy is that, "As a convenience, we will accept mail/UPS/Fedex packages on behalf of the resident, however, we will not be held responsible for the package in the event of theft or damage." How enforceable is this statement? Just because the leasing office put it in a contract and I signed it, does that override the fact that potential mail theft is a criminal offense? For what it's worth, I never asked the leasing office to sign for the package, and if they did, they should give it to me (it's called "theft" if they don't, I would think).

I have already reported my loss to American Express and PayPal as well as the USPS. The package itself was worth a couple hundred dollars, so it’s not sufficiently valuable where it makes sense for me to hire an attorney. However, I want to do the best I can on my own — either get reimbursed by USPS, or just raise enough of a stink with the corporate management of the apartment complex in the hopes that they’ll eventually oblige. To add fuel to the fire, a girl in the leasing office sent me a rather foul e-mail yesterday -- one that was intended to be sent to a colleague of hers regarding my situation, but instead went to me because she hit the "reply" button -- and it basically went to the effect of, “Should we reimburse this person or just tell him to screw off?” Something like that can't possibly be good for the apartment complex's public relations.

Any advice you could provide would be much appreciated. If you need any additional details, please contact me at porcupines@gmail.com or post your responses here. Thanks again for all your help. - Is this your question? Add additional information

Answers (1)

William J. Dyer

This attorney is licensed in Texas. Posted 12 months ago.

You're going to have a hard, and possibly impossible, time getting around that language in the lease in any action against your apartment complex. But it may be worth a try.

The argument I'd make is that this was a "bailment," and that the apartment complex became your "bailee," meaning temporary holder of goods belonging to you. You should concede that the contract language is sufficient to immunize the complex from being held responsible if, for example, (a) a stranger broke into their offices and stole your box, or (b) a storm caused a tree limb to crash through the wall and it demolished your box.

But you would point out that the contract language does not release them from liability either for the complex's own negligence (as committed through its employees) or for the intentional torts (here, "conversion," the civil version of theft) of its employees. "Your honor," you would say, "No tenant would ever sign a lease with a company who was asking permission up front for its employees to steal the tenants blind, and this lease doesn't contain that kind of permission. And if they wanted to be released for acts of their own NEGLIGENCE -- as opposed to circumstances wholly outside their control -- they ought to have had to have said exactly that in the release for it to cover this kind of situation. Instead, this should be read as only extending to their potential liability for things wholly OUTSIDE their control, and that's not the kind of case I'm bringing."

Set the case for trial at the earliest possible date. Subpoena the manager as an "adverse witness" for your trial in small claims court. (The court staff can help you figure out how to get the subpoena issued and served.) Get him to acknowledge the signature on the receipt and to describe what they do as a general matter to keep residents' property from being stolen (e.g., keeping it in a locked room or behind a counter where only employees have ready access). They will NOT take the position that they do NOTHING, i.e., they won't say they leave stuff on the sidewalk where anyone could come get it. Get him to admit that even if it's provided as "a courtesy" and subject to the disclaimer for things legitimately outside their control (break-in during non-office hours, tree limb), providing this service is one of the many things they do to make residents happy, which they do because they ultimately want to attract and retain their tenants. Get him to acknowledge that they never reported to the police any sort of break-in by a stranger, or any sort of casualty event (tree limb) to their insurer. Ask what screens they do on potential employees re their criminal backgrounds (probably none).

You'd be building a case through CIRCUMSTANTIAL evidence -- which can be just as valid as direct evidence (like a confession or an eye-witness) -- to the effect that the only thing that COULD have happened to the package was either (a) an outsider stealing it, which in turn implies a break-down and failure to use "ordinary care" in their enforcement of their own policies, or (b) an employee stealing it, which implies negligent hiring or supervision by the complex.

You might ALSO SUE the individual who signed for the package. He/she will probably ask the employer to "provide a defense." But the receipt shows that that person at least had access to the package, and the pressure of your circumstantial case -- i.e., your showing that no one else but employees should have had access to it -- puts pressure on them to come up with an alternative explanation.

My guess is that if you file a case in small claims court, the complex will very much want to avoid going to trial. Unlike you, they're required by Texas law to have a licensed attorney, even in small claims court, which creates a lot of pressure on them to avoid attorneys' fees on all but the most defensible cases (which this may not be, despite the contract language). Good luck!

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