Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Legal Liability for Bicycle Theft
I opened my home to a writing group I'd organized via Craigslist. One woman rode her bicycle and she was late. As she rushed in she asked me if her bicycle would be ok on the porch. I told her, truthfully, that nothing had been taken from the porch before. During the group meeting her bicycle was stolen. She wrote me a letter saying she wants me to pay for half the value of the bike because I should have ''known something was amiss.'' Neither of us heard anything on the porch during the meeting. She never asked me if she could take the bike inside. I've never had a visitor with a bicycle before, so I had no way of knowing how desirable they are to theives. Am I responsible for half the value of the bike?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Legal Liability for Bicycle Theft
Criminal acts of a third party are an intervening and superceding cause to any negligence claim, and you are off the hook unless you knew or should have known of any facts that would have created a duty for you to warn her of theft.
Based on your facts, you did not know of any previous thievery, and therefore would not have been required to warn her.
She should have bought a bicycle lock. If people in this day and age will rape and loot victims of a hurricane, they will steal a bike. She should take responsibility of her failure to have a bike lock, and quit blaming you.
Very truly yours,
Re: Legal Liability for Bicycle Theft
This is more of a negligence (tort law) question than real estate, though it does have a real estate component. You might get more and better answers if the question were re-asked under a tort or negligence heading. Here's my guess, however: You won't be found liable for negligence (or otherwise) unless the victim can show that you were aware of an elevated risk of theft and didn't disclose it.
Re: Legal Liability for Bicycle Theft
I don't see that you have any liability based on the facts you stated. She chose to bring the bicycle and leave it unattended (and perhaps unlocked) on your front porch.
You don't say what the value is, but if it's substantial, she may be able to contact her own homeowner's insurance company and make a claim for the amount in excess of her deductible. Generally homeowner's policies will cover the contents of the home (including a bicycle) even if the items are stolen from another location, but it would be necessary to look at the exact language of the policy to know for sure.
And finally, keep in mind that at most, the insurance company would pay her replacement value (i.e., cost less depreciation), not the current cost to buy a new bicycle, less the deductible.
Regrettably, this is one of the downsides to opening your home to outsiders. Someone who trips over something and is injured could also have a claim against you as the property owner and/or the tenant. You might want to consider switching your meeting to a more public location.
Good luck.
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