Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Hawaii
"Why didn't they keep the tape?"
I was renting a storage from a company and my storage was broken into. The locks were cut and the robber took some of my property. The following day when a routine check was made the break in was discovered by the company. Because they were unable to contact me they put another lock on the storage and a few days later it to was cut and more property was taken. When I was notified a police report was made. I asked if they could view the security tapes on the dates and management had told me that they were not available because the tapes were erased because of it being only long enough to tape about 14 days and it being past that, it was recorded over for current days. Shouldn't they have saved them knowing a break in occurred, not once but twice, so the police could have it as evidence? Can I sue them for negligence?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Lost Tape
Certainly the company was negligent in overwriting the tape, it makes me wonder if there was a tape or some other reason for erasing it. The problem here is "causation". Was this the cause of your loss or not retrieving your loss? probably not. Look at your contract, there may be some damage clause if they don't meet the terms of the contract. If they materially breach the contract, which they might have, you could probably get your past rents returned. Try small claims through the district court. Good luck.
Re:
A storage facility acts as a bailee. A bailee owes a duty of care to protect property entrusted to it. Therefore, you do have a right to recover from the storage company the value of your lost property. However, the terms of your rental contract may limit your recovery. You should review the rental contract to determine whether it places limits on your recovery.
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