Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Illinois
Donative intent.
To make a long story short, I was given some furniture almost 4 years ago from a friend of my Aunt. The donor was downsizing from a 2-bedroom condo to a one-bedroom apartment and had to purge with some items. I went to her home, accepted and took delivery of these items. No strings attached.
A few months ago, the donor called me and asked for her items back. When I said she gave them to me and they are not her items and therefore not returnable, she started harassing me, my parents, my Uncle (my Aunt passed away) in order to force me to give the items back. The donor is intimating in letters to my family & husband that I am trying to abscond with my husband�s house, sending letters that he should be mindful of his mother�s estate and that I am greedy and money hungry among personal insults about my integrity. I have refused to accept any mail or communication of any kind. An attorney sent a Cease and Desist letter to the donor, which only inflamed her. A lawsuit is inevitable.
One upside that I have is the donor left a voicemail about 5 weeks back stating she �gave me� these items ("under stress of the move and the impending death of my Aunt"); wanted to buy them back because she is moving out of state and she feels her nephews deserve them as some of the items are antique.
Now however, the donor is now claiming, I was holding the items (bailment agreement) until she paid back my Aunt (now my Aunts estate) a loan. My Uncle never heard of this arrangement until the donor miraculously came up with this story a few weeks ago to bolster her case against me. This woman is malicious and deceiving and totally dishonest, not to mention psychotic. She has sent letters to my husbands employer making threats to have them all disbarred for conflict of interest if they helped me in my case against her.
I expect the lawsuit to be filed in Illinois since that is where the transaction occurred. Who has to prove the claim? The donor or donee? Do you feel that I have sufficient evidence to prevail? Aside from this made up story, the donor has no proof and certainly nothing in writing. What can I do to strengthen my case? The value of the items should make this case fall into small claims court.
1 Answer from Attorneys
The only relevant evidence will be the oral conversation that took place at the time of the transfer of the goods. I take it that you did not sign a receipt for the furniture nor a bill of sale. It's a question of credibility and I think you have the high ground.
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