Legal Question in Business Law in Washington

I need to find out who is liable

I own a business in a leased space in an office building. Someone broke into the building on the weekend (on a Sunday when there is no security guard on duty and the building is locked). My suite along with 4 other suites were broken into and cash and merchandise were taken. Our alarm went off and the alarm company sent the police, but when the police arrived they could not get into the building because it was locked and no one could let them in, so they just left. The police were called back 20 minutes later and one of the other business owners let them into the building. Is the management company liable for not having someone present or having the building accessible to the police? Are the police liable for not accessing the building and just leaving even though there were burglar alarms going off in the building? Any help or advice you can provide would be much appreciate. Thanks!


Asked on 9/09/08, 1:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Susan Beecher Susan L. Beecher, Atty at Law

Re: I need to find out who is liable

Does your lease provide that the building management will provide someone on site 24/7? If yes, there may be some liability there. Otherwise, if the building management has taken reasonable precautions to keep the building secure (e.g. fixing broken door locks), I don't think you will have luck there.

I suspect you will also hit a dead end trying to hold the police liable.

If you do not have insurance, I have no helpful advice for you this time, but get insurance in case this happens again. If you have insurance, contact your insurance company, make the claim, and let them search for the liable party, if there is one (besides the thieves, obviously). When our homes or offices are broken into we feel violated and we want someone to be answerable. Making an insurance claim and moving on does not really satisfy that craving for justice to be done. However, if you do not do that, you are going to spend more time and money, and in this case, probably come away empty-handed. The thieves have already stolen cash, merchandise and some of your sense of security. Don't let them steal more of your money, and your time.

Sorry I don't have better news for you.

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Answered on 9/09/08, 2:29 pm


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