Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: equipment return

"Can they?" Well, they did, didn't they?

Whether they can force its return through criminal or civil legal action against you is a different question. If it was company property, your proper response should have been,'here it is, come get it'. What would make you think it becomes yours upon termination? I suggest you resolve it amicably with the company before finding out that they are willing to initiate legal action.

Re: equipment return

Code of Civil Procedure, section 338 governs the statute of limitations for actions to recover property from another: It is a three year time period to file a lawsuit against you. Mr. Nelson is right. Don't find out the hard way whether they are serious. Give them back their company property now.

Re: equipment return

Can they? You bet!

More likely than not, the employer would use civil procedures rather than making a police report and pressing criminal charges, but they could do either, and although the D.A. might be to preoccupied with major crime to get around to prosecuting you, the decision to file a civil complaint would be purely at the employer's discretion; they would probably file for "replevin" if they want the specific property returned, or for "conversion" if they wanted money damages instead of the stuff, but either way they'd have a strong case based on what you've said.

As I said in my reply to your first post, title to personal property does not pass with the passage of time; there is no principle of law giving a person "adverse possession" or "squatter's rights" as there is in the law of real property. The stuff still belongs to the employer, and still will, even after the longest possible statute of limitations runs out (which I think could be the four-year limit for suits based on a written contract - that's from the date of the brach, not the date the contract was formed).