Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
I rent a storage unit at Public Storage. My units is inside the climate controlled building. The unit was broken into and several items were stolen and damaged. The facts are as follows. The "crooks" used MY gate code to gain entry through the main gate and into the climate controlled building. They apparently cut my lock and placed a lock of their own (combination lock) so they could gain access at a later date. They have video of the thieves removing the items from the building and loading them into the car. As i put the facts together I have come to the conclusion that this theft was made possible by employee involvement.
I have several other facts, I'd rather not expose on this open forum.
I'd like to speak to an attorney but don't know what type I would need.
I would appreciate it if someone could provide me with a little guidance.
Thank you in advance.
KJ
1 Answer from Attorneys
How sure are you that the thieves didn't get the gate code from you (perhaps by seeing the paper you wrote it on or accessing your computer) or someone you know?
Besides, it isn't clear that leaking your access code would give you a viable claim. The access code lets people onto the premises, but not into your unit. You can't complain that someone gained entry to the property. Your complaint is that they got into your unit, but the gate code isn't what let them do that. They needed to physically break the lock, which they could have done even if they had used a different code.
Also, how much were the stolen items worth? Even if you can prove this was an inside job, you might not have a case worth bringing.
Bear in mind that an employer is not necessarily liable for every wrongful act committed by an employee. If a worker leaked your code, and even if the code enabled the thieves to steal valuable property from your unit, your claim against the worker might not reach the company.
Finally, your lease may require you to carry insurance or to limit the value of the contents of your unit. If you violated such a requirement, you might not be able to sue the company successfully (though you could still sue the thieves if you can identity them).
This answer does contain a lot of "coulds" and "ifs". I suggest discussing your case with a litigator to see whether you have a claim worth bringing to court.
Good luck.
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