Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Minnesota

Re: stolen purse by Mcdonalds employee

You my possibly be able to recover against McDonald's or the individual franchise, if this was not a company store.

If the company employee admits taking your purse and not giving it back and they claim it just disappeared, they had a duty to take reasonable care of it while it was in their possession. Losing it, in my opinion, would not be using reasonable care.

There may also be an argument that when your wife turned the purse over to the employee, a bailment situation was created. I do not remember bailment law very well and this situation would have to be researched.

If the store denies taking your wife's purse to clean it and it becomes her word against the employee's, you may not be able to sustain your burden of proving it more likely than not that the employee took it. In a denial situation, it appears less likely you may be able to recover.

You would also need to prove what your damages are. This would require providing some evidence (receipts or comparable items receipts) as to everything that was in the purse, including the purse itself.