Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Minnesota
Personal Property
A woman's mother passed away. She and her boyfriend went to the house and boxed up many personal items the mother had, before any siblings could get there. The woman asked me if she could store the boxes on my property. I agreed. The boxes were on my property for about a year, with the woman saying many times she would come and pick them up. She never did. I ended up hauling the boxes to the landfill.
Am I liable for those items and can she do anything legal against me?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Personal Property
Yes, you could possibly by liable for the value of the items that were discarded, although there may be an offset for the cost of storage.
You may have created a bailment relationship when you took possession of the items, which would impose an obligation of safe keeping. Before throwing away the items, notice should have been given to the owner about your intended disposition -- whether to throw them away, place them in storage, etc.
The likely response depends, of course, on the character of the person who placed them in your care. It is probably her alone to whom you owed an obligation of safe keeping, since it was she who placed them in your care, although more facts would be necessary to properly evaulate the issue.
If you have further questions, my contact information is below.
Thank you for your question.
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