Legal Question in Technology Law in California

My boyfriend bought me a laptop using Bill-Me-Later earlier this year. A few months later, he told me to pay him back, so I gave him half of the money one month and the other half another month. I have the statements on my bank account showing that I paid him. However, he used the other half of the money for something other than paying the laptop off, so he still owes money. He thinks he is entitled to do whatever he wants with the laptop because he bought it, but is this allowed considering that for one, he gave it to me even though he made me pay for it, and that two, I gave him the amount that it cost anyway? We live together and I'm afraid that if I choose to leave, he will try to claim ownership of my laptop. Please help!


Asked on 10/30/12, 3:46 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

If the laptop was a gift (your boyfriend might not agree with this premise) then your boyfriend had no right to insist that you pay for it, and you had no obligation to do so. He also has no right to treat the laptop as his own.

From a non-lawyer perspective, your boyfriend and your relationship both sound unhealthy. The risk of losing a laptop might be worth taking if it means you can make a change.

Just my $.02, of course.

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Answered on 10/30/12, 6:27 am


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