Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Iowa

My sister and her husband were homeless I offered to store their belongings in my basement for free, now a lazy boy chair has mold on it and they are threatening me with small claims court do they have a case.


Asked on 10/23/10, 1:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas Moens Moens Law Offices, Chartered

Wow. Let no good deed go unpunished. Even assuming they could win this lawsuit, what are their damages? How much is a used chair worth? Probably not even the filing fee to file the lawsuit. And it probably could be cleaned with a good steam cleaning or something similar.

IF they sue you, just show up and explain your side of the situation. In the very, very unlikely event they win, at least you can recoup your loss by not giving them Christmas gifts in the future. You did a good thing in trying to help them, please do not let this sour you on helping others in the future. Fortunately, not everyone behaves in this manner.

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Answered on 10/29/10, 1:42 pm


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