Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

When you pawned the motorcycle, you gave ownership to the pawn shop owner, subject to your right to redeem the motorcycle. Assuming you returned within the period of time required to exercise that right, he had a legal duty to return the bike to you, but that duty could be waived if some third party or natural event occurred that destroyed the object, if there was no fault on part of the merchant. If you were on a boat with some friends and asked one to hold your camera while you got closer to the edge of the boat, a sudden wind came up pushing the boat up at a sharp angle and the camera came loose from your friend's hands as he tried to avoid going overboard, you would not expect him to owe you for the camera.

However, a pawnshop owner should have non-fault, thief insurance coverage on the items in his possession. You may have even thought before giving him the bike that he would have such insurance coverage so it was safe to put it in his possession. Find out from him the name and contact information of his insurance and make a claim under his policy; unfortunately, they probably will only give you the blue book value of the bike and not what it will cost you to relace it with a similar bike.

That he did not tell you until you came in that it had been stolen suggests that he probably did not know that until he started looking for it because you came in. Which suggests that he may not have put it in a secure place, it just can not be found and he has no real idea what happened, it was not stolen. Did he file a police report, an insurance one? Find out all the details of how he stored it, other merchanise lost, any sign of forced entry, etc. If he was negligent then he has to return the bike to you. He probably wil refuse so you wil need to sue him in Small Claims Court [be sure to include a money claim for loss of use of the bike and/or the cost of using other means of transportation.