Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Return of property
I parked a utility trailer at a house that my son was renting. The the same time my son was moving out of the house my daughter was purchasing the property. After the purchase and unknowing that the trailer belonged to me a neighbor bought the trailer from my daughter for $50.00. When I became aware of this I told the nieghbor that I would give them their money back plus any fees they paid to register the trailer. They said they would think about it and a few days later they said they would rather keep the trailer. I them offered them $200.00 plus any monies they had spent on registration and they still refused to return the trailer. My question is if I take them to small claims court will they have to return my property... They said they have a title in there name but I never signed anything to release the trailer and there was no lein sale done. I will still return still return any monies due them +, just want the trailer returned. Thank you
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Return of property
If the trailer was your property at the time of the supposed "sale" then it still is. You are entitled to reclaim it even if you pay the "buyers" nothing for it. They, however, will have a claim against your daughter for the value of the trailer (whatever that may be), minus the $50 that they gave her for it. If they accept any money from you, that amount would also be deducted from their recovery.
Thus, if the trailer is really worth $1,000 and they don't agree to make a deal with you, they will be entitled to $950 from your daughter. If they agree to accept your $200 offer, they will still be entitled to $750 from her. They may well be entitled to additional damages -- as well as punitives -- for fraud.
The reason your daughter is the one with the potential exposure is that she is the one who took the trailer from you. Keep this in mind when you decide how you want to proceed.
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