Liability of someone holding personal property that is subsequently stolen due to their negligence
Question Details:
A friend gave me permission to put my 1973 Nova in his back yard so we could work on it. Out of the blue he calls me late Sunday night telling me that he's pushing my car out on the street.I get there Tuesday morning and my car was stolen, he put my keys in the car without locking it. Is there a liability issue because he gave me permission and didn't give me a small amount of time to pick it up.
Business Law Answers
I'd say that your friend is going to have to pay you for the value of the car, whatever that might be, because the situation, with your car in his back yard, created what the law calls a bailment, and that makes the car's safekeeping his responsibility. He had the right to end the bailment, on reasonable notice; what he did wasn't even remotely reasonable. It was one thing to push the car out of his yard, but leaving it unlocked with the keys inside is unjustifiable, in my opinion.
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