Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

property left at my home

my ex boyfriend is in jail. while he has served time since oct 06 his things are at my house. After i broke it off with him i told him i would hold his things. Than he gave my address and name to another inmate who contacted me. Ifeel he has endangered me and my children. I have since found out my ex has a long run in history with the law. I wanted to cut all ties with this man so i gave his things to the salvation army and told him not to contact me again. He wrote telling me he is going to sue me for getting rid of his things he left in my home when he gets out in july. does he have a case, or did I have the right to rid my home of the things he left behind. also can i put a stipulation on his parole that he has no contact me me at all. I do not feel safe knowing what i do now about him


Asked on 5/13/07, 12:38 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: property left at my home

Having promised to hold your ex-boyrfriend's property for him, you had no right to unilaterally change your mind and give his things away. At a minimum you had to tell him you no longer wanted to hold his belongings and give him a reasonable opportunity to arrange for someone else to pick them up. From what you have written it sounds like he has a good case against you and that you will have to pay him the fair value of the items you gave away, unless you are able to get them back. You may also have broken some criminal laws by disposing of someone else's property. You might want to do what you can to get these items back in order to minimize the consequences of your actions.

You cannot control what the terms of your ex's eventual parole or supervised release will be. If you want him to stay away from you you will have to obtain a restraining order against him.

It looks like you are going to need the services of one or more lawyers in the very near future. I suggest you start looking for one now so you will be ready when your ex is released in July.

Good luck.

Read more
Answered on 5/13/07, 7:08 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More General Civil Litigation questions and answers in California