Cotton Fitzsimmons Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 If there are any legal professionals on the board here, I really could use some advice. My father is engaged in a lawsuit over a rental dispute. Long story short, he owned a small business that went out of business about 5 years ago. He had equipment left after he sold property that he owned, which needed to be stored. A close friend had a cousin who owned a pole barn where my dad could store his trucks/tools he had left over. After a couple of years of storing his stuff there, there was a rental dispute and the owner of the barn locked my dad out and refused to let him get his property out. We attempted to get a Sheriff's deputy involved for a "Civil Standby" to allow us to get my father's belongings out but were turned away and were told we had to sue the landlord and settle it in court. A few months later my father reached a settlement with the landlord, pending an inspection of his property to ensure everything was unharmed. Unfortunately there was approximately $25,000 worth of property missing upon this inspection. This has led to almost 2 years of litigation now, and we've gone through 2 lawyers now. The end result has been "too bad you can't prove they took anything" and also my father is going to owe a large judgement to the landlord and have to pay their legal fees on top of the stuff that has been stolen from him. After he got this latest news from our attorney following a hearing yesterday, my father broke down. He's gone through tough financial times the last several years and now the only things he has left after this guy stealing from him, are going to be taken away from him it would appear by the court to pay this judgement. If there is anyone out there who might be an expert in this field and would possibly be able to give some advice please feel free to PM me. Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b stein 22 Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 What state are you in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cotton Fitzsimmons Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 What state are you in? We are in Michigan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erynthered Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Shiv the Mo Fo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 If he has no documentation/evidence of what was stored in there originally, there's nothing he can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BB27 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 I would say he needs to talk to a different lawyer. Legal issues are a lot like medical issues, it never hurts to get a second opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mead107 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 What happens if the barn burns down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted August 26, 2011 Share Posted August 26, 2011 What happens if the barn burns down? And what happens if the barn is broken into and other stuff not belonging to your father is taken? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 (edited) Why did he litigate for 2 years knowing he had no proof of things stolen? He should have cut his loses then instead of going for his best outcome which in all reality was a "Hail Mary." You said he went through 2 lawyers... Is there malpractice there or is your father stubborn? Could he have made made a jury demand for trial... That would have been his best option (IMO non-lawyer opinion) instead of in front of a judge... Maybe he would have had some sympathetic jurors? Edited August 27, 2011 by ExiledInIllinois Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 (edited) Your father is in a very difficult legal condition since, as others have noted, he didn't get a receipt or a document itemizing the property stored and the terms of the storage. That is water over the dam. Maybe another avenue to take is to look into whether the person who owns the storage property has the appropriate permits, zoning and required bonding for doing what he does on the property. It is not unusual that someone who is as dishonest/unethical as the antangonist seems to be has taken shortcuts in establishing his business. I have won two claims against businesses that tried to hustle me. One was a remodeling contractor. In that case I went through the state (Maryland) contractors licensing office and the other case was against AOL where I went through the county consumer's affairs office. Both did exceptional work. After chasing the contractor for almost a year to finish the licensing office got the contractor to finish the job in one day. The licensing office threatened to pull the cntractor's license allowing him to do business. The problem with AOL took more time. With me they were unyielding. With the consumer's affairs office they became more flexible and satisfactorily resolved my issue. When dealing with government offices it is very helpful if you provide whatever documentation (copies) you have and to very accurately and concisely lay out the problem. Writing out an easy to undertand timeline and the facts involved helps the under staffed offices do their jobs. Good luck. Edited August 29, 2011 by JohnC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Your father is in a very difficult legal condition since, as others have noted, he didn't get a receipt or a document itemizing the property stored and the terms of the storage. That is water over the dam. Maybe another avenue to take is to look into whether the person who owns the storage property has the appropriate permits, zoning and required bonding for doing what he does on the property. It is not unusual that someone who is as dishonest/unethical as the antangonist seems to be has taken shortcuts in establishing his business. I have won two claims against businesses that tried to hustle me. One was a remodeling contractor. In that case I went through the state (Maryland) contractors licensing office and the other case was against AOL where I went throught the county consumer's affairs office. Both did exceptional work. After chasing the contractor for almost a year to finish the licensing office got the contractor to finish the job in one day. The licensing office threatened to pull the cntractor's license allowing him to do business. The problem with AOL took more time. With me they were unyielding. With the consumer's affairs office they became more flexible and satisfactorily resolved my issue. When dealing with government offices it is very helpful if you provide whatever documentation (copies) you have and to very accurately and concisely lay out the problem. Writing out an easy to undertand timeline and the facts involved helps the under staffed offices do their jobs. Good luck. Sounds like awesome advice. Got me thinking, sounds nearly impossible for a guy like me! And I work for the gov't! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 Sounds like awesome advice. Got me thinking, sounds nearly impossible for a guy like me! And I work for the gov't! This case would be a good business school case to study. The business world and the legal world is not very pristine. Sometimes the issue isn't being right or wrong or black and white, so much as getting a reasonable resolution to your problem done. There are many occasions where you can be legally right and still lose. As an example, you can spend years in litigation exhausting your funds winning a judgment. What happens if you win the judgment and the person doesn'haven't the ability to pay the judgment or simply refuses to pay the judgment? Then what? When getting involved in the legal system you can't be naive. Lawyers have a different perspective on most legal conflicts. Their incentive revolves around the issue of billable hours. The longer the conflict goes on the more money they make. While you have an urgency to get the issue resolved they might not see it that way. As long as you have an ability to pay you will never have a problem getting an attorney to handle your case. There comes a point where it is smarter to lose $10,000 on a dispute instead of losing $40,000 and still climbing and not have your case concluded. Not having a resolution to a long term problem is poisonous to the person involved. When you are in a long term battle (legal entanglement) you are never at peace. That is not a healthy situation to be in. Sometimes the best way to view a business dispute is not from a right/wrong perspective but from a perspective of let's resolve this problem in the best way possible. You can be very right from an ethical standpoint and still be in a very weak position from a legal standpoint. Recognizing where you stand and what your position is before you go into the extended battle $$$$$$$ would have been the prudent thing to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 This case would be a good business school case to study. The business world and the legal world is not very pristine. Sometimes the issue isn't being right or wrong or black and white, so much as getting a reasonable resolution to your problem done. There are many occasions where you can be legally right and still lose. As an example, you can spend years in litigation exhausting your funds winning a judgment. What happens if you win the judgment and the person doesn'haven't the ability to pay the judgment or simply refuses to pay the judgment? Then what? When getting involved in the legal system you can't be naive. Lawyers have a different perspective on most legal conflicts. Their incentive revolves around the issue of billable hours. The longer the conflict goes on the more money they make. While you have an urgency to get the issue resolved they might not see it that way. As long as you have an ability to pay you will never have a problem getting an attorney to handle your case. There comes a point where it is smarter to lose $10,000 on a dispute instead of losing $40,000 and still climbing and not have your case concluded. Not having a resolution to a long term problem is poisonous to the person involved. When you are in a long term battle (legal entanglement) you are never at peace. That is not a healthy situation to be in. Sometimes the best way to view a business dispute is not from a right/wrong perspective but from a perspective of let's resolve this problem in the best way possible. You can be very right from an ethical standpoint and still be in a very weak position from a legal standpoint. Recognizing where you stand and what your position is before you go into the extended battle $$$$$$$ would have been the prudent thing to do. Very well said! Got me thinking of "billable hours" and what really crappy efforts some people do during those hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guffalo Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Got me thinking of "billable hours" and what really crappy efforts some people do during those hours. Like posting on internet football boards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Like posting on internet football boards? Very perceptive... That is why I put the in there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts