Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Georgia
A person I know lent my band a 4x6 trailer to use for a few shows over one year ago. Once we had the trailer cleared out and were ready to return it, I realized that the trailer's tag had expired. I saw him a few times over the course of the last year, and he told me that he drove past my house often, and saw his trailer, but had never gotten around to picking it up. I told him to come pick up his trailer because it was a nuisance. I even offered to return it upon receipt of a current tag sticker. After over one year, he contacted me to get the trailer back on very short notice when i wasn't available. The big problem is that by this time i was so mad about having to put up with the trailer for so long. I felt like i should not have been legally obligated to store it for over a year. I had every intention (and still do) of returning the thing, but at the time i was just mad and i told him i sold it. Then he sued me for what he claims to have paid for the thing. i have since offered to return it upon receipt of a tag sticker and told him to come get it. In addition to money for the trailer, he is also suing for his court fees of $101.50, so I tried to get him to come get the trailer and I'd give him the court fees (to avoid the inconvenience of going to court.)I have four questions:
1. Is he legally entitled to full compensation for court fees?
2. On these grounds, would I win a counter suit for storage?
3. What is the most likely outcome if this thing goes to court?
4. I have an international trip coming up in about a month and a half, which i have already paid for; is there any way to guarantee that this will not affect that?
Thanks so much!
1 Answer from Attorneys
You acted improperly. (Had you sold it, and it was very foolish to have said that, you would have gone to prison for a felony).
Yes, he gets his court costs. And since you lied about selling it, that's a refusal to return his property, so he gets the value of it.
You don't get to countersue for storage because you never sent any paperwork advising him that he would owe any.
When you go on vacation in the middle of the case, you lose when you fail to appear if it comes up then.
Because of your foolish statement about selling it, you really look like the villian. At this point, why not deliver the trailer to him, pay $101.50 into the registry of the court, and have a lawyer draft a motion to dismiss based upon the return of the trailer and the payment of costs.
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