Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Florida
right to personal property
my husband lived with his girlfriend, we decided to try to work it out, he left her now she refuses to give him his clothes and other personal property, we tried retrieving his property in the presence of a police officer, she in turn pressed grand theft for a ring he found and let her wear,which she claims belongs to her grandfather, until she gets the ring back, she won't give him his clothes and personal property. is it leagal for her to do this, and what can we do to get his clothes back from her?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: right to personal property
There are three main possibilities. One is to file suit
for conversion. Conversion is the action seeking money
damages against someone who wrongfully takes or retains your
property.
As second is replevin. Replevin is a suit to
recover property you own from someone else.
The problem with both of these is that there is
no basis for recovering your attorney's fees, which
could easily exceed the amount of judgment.
A third possibility is to file a suit for civil
theft. Civil theft is a statutory cause of action
that allows you to recover treble damages and attorney's
fees. You must first send a demand and if the property
is not returned in 30 days, you can proceed with
filing suit.
Even if you prevail in the suits and obtain a judgment,
there may be difficulties in enforcing the judgment.
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