Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York
negligence
what recourse do I have to recover damages?
A bank hired a vendor to padlock property due to mortgage payments in arrears.
they targeted my property (seasonal) which I owned free and clear. and was not the property they should have seized. i called the vendor who in turn directed me to the bank. the bank demanded I prove i owned the property which i did and i demanded in writing i wanted the locks removed and damages corrected.i wanted their vendor to meet me at property when locks were removed so damages could be accertained.i never received a response untill 7 months later when they sent keys for the locks they installed. i entered property and found items were removed from premisis and carpets removed plus other damage such as water damage from winter weather as i did not have possession of property to maintain it over the winter.i took pictures of damage the day i entered property. what should i do? what damages can i recover (physical, taxes, insurance, removal of property) how do i prove they did the damage? i have tried to get contractor estimates for damage but the contractors are reluctant to give estimates as they are concerned to be involved if this issue must be resolved in the courts.thank you for your response.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: negligence
Your question raises a number of other questions to clarify the issues. At first glance, it would appear that the wrongful padlocking of your property is actionable against both the bank and the "vendor." However, why did you wait 7 months? Why didn't you have the padlocks clipped? What are your damages. It would seem that you could hire a contractor to provide an estimate of damages and I am unclear as to their reluctance to do so. Giving estimates are a part of their job.
Please feel free to contact me to discuss this further.I would be happy to obtain more information and discuss your options with you.
Re: negligence
You have a claim against vendor and bank. You may not be able to recover for water damages if the court finds you could have prevented same by reasonably acting (cutting locks off your property and entering).
Feel free to email me directly to discuss firther.
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