My former roommate took of all my belongings with him when he moved out of our house. How do I go about getting my stuff back?
My former roommate took of all my belongings with him when he moved out of our house. I filed a claim with the police and they wouldn't do anything claiming it was a civil matter and I'd have to take him to court. My belongings are worth at least $5,000 and it's been a month and he's still refusing to return them, claiming I abandoned them, which I did not! So my question is what do I have to do to take him to court for the cost of my belongings, the cost of the gas to travel back to that city all these times to deal with this matter, the cost of thins I've had to replace in the mean time because they were things I NEEDED and he had, and for pain and suffering because my 4 year old has gone without all of his toys because he stole everything of ours.Also he claims he's going to file against me for back rent, although we only lived together for 1.5 months and had no lease or written agreement of any kind. I'm not worried about information on him filing against me, just thought it might be relevant to the matter.
3 attorney answers
You cannot get damages for pain and suffering, but you may be able to get triple damages, for conversion of the assets. I suspect this person is not expecting you will challenge him on this. Since the value of the suit is over $5k, you will need to file in district court instead of small claims court.
Best of luck to you!
James Frederick
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If this needs to be handled in civil court then, as previous counsel mentioned, you could sue for conversion. Conversion is the act of one person taking someone else's property in such a way that they deny the owner possession of it and use the property without legal authority to do so (paraphrasing). The beautiful thing about conversion, is that it allows you to collect triple damages. Under this scenario, the law would allow you to go after your former roommate not only for the value of the property, but potentially to be awareded 3 times the amount of the value.
How would I go about sueing for conversion? I would first file the summons and complaint correct, but then what would I have to do?
If the property can be identified as yours and he knowingly took (stole) it, it is a crime and he can be made to return it to you either through the prosecutor's office or through civil litigation.
So there is no misunderstanding, this answer does not create an attorney/client relationship and you cannot presume that I am your lawyer or that my advice can be relied upon in any way other than for information only. You will not become my client unless and until you retain me.
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Well what do I file? I've talked to legal aid 3 times and they keep telling me different forms I have to turn in to file? I took law in high school but it's definitely not my major so i'm pretty lost in all this.
Also what constitutes as abandonment of belongings?
James P. Frederick
You would need to file a summons and complaint. What constitutes abandonment depends on the facts. Were you advised that you needed to retrieve your belongings or they would be removed? It sounds like he simply TOOK your stuff. How can you "abandon" something that someone else stole from you? Facts are critical in cases like this. You may need to consult with an attorney to review all of your facts to determine how best to proceed. It would make a difference, for instance, if you left and left your stuff behind for 6 months, despite repeated calls from your ex-roommate to come and get your belongings or they would be disposed of.
I had left and told him i'd return within a week to retrieve them. When I came back for them he was gone along with my stuff. He never told me he'd remove it if I wasn't back for in by a certain day. Thank you for your input.
James P. Frederick
I would say that if you came by any time close to a week, he has a very weak argument. If you came back 3 months later, that might be a different thing, especially if there was no communication.