What is my legal recourse regarding the wrongful possession of property?

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What is my legal recourse regarding the wrongful possession of property?

Had a friend store my plow for my company truck for the summer season and now we are no longer friends. Will not return any phone calls or make any attempts to return the plow. I have all paperwork stating the plow belongs to me.

Asked on October 3, 2011 under Business Law, New York

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 12 years ago | Contributor

You can sue your friend for conversion.  Conversion is the unauthorized assumption and exercise of the right of ownership over the personal property of another without consent or legal privilege.  Conversion is an unauthorized act which deprives an owner of his property permanently or for an indefinite time.

Your damages (the amount of compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) would be the full value of the plow.  Your damages should also include court costs.  Court costs would include the court filing fee and process server fee.  Depending on the value of the plow, you might be able to file your lawsuit in Small Claims Court.

Full value of the plow would be the usual amount of damages you could recover.  However, in some courts, your damages might be limited to the rental value of the plow during the period of dispossession if your friend offers to return the property to you in an undamaged condition.

Since full value of the plow is the usual remedy in most courts, you should seek to recover full value as damages in your lawsuit.

You will need to file your lawsuit prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations or you will lose your rights forever in the matter.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

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