Theft From My Home by an Employee of a Company

[JewelK]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

I apologize if this isn't the correct place to post this question.

Here is a little background info about this situation.
My husband and I entered into a land contract in 2007, paid $5000 down and dutifully paid $1000/month and put lots of time and money into improving the property until January 2011 when we discovered that the seller hadn't paid the property taxes or mortgage in years and the house was in foreclosure.
Long story short, we were granted permission from the judge to stop payments and live rent free in the house until the time of the sheriff auction as long as we continued to maintain the property in good condition.
During that time we took the $1000 we should have been paying and put it into a savings account for a down payment on a new house with a traditional mortgage.
We closed on our new home in August of this year and were slowly in the process of moving -the sheriff auction was scheduled for 9/19/14. We also understood that after the auction we were to be given a 90 day eviction notice to vacate the property.
We started moving on 8/20/14. We still had utilities on at the house we were moving out of. Most of our large items like furniture, etc had been moved, but everything was still untouched in the finished basement. At this point we were spending nights in the new house, but still slowly moving out of the old place while we cleaned and painted the new place.

On 9/30/14 a neighbor called to tell me to come to the old house, a company had been there and posted a sign saying they found the residence to be abandoned and if that wasn't the case, there was a number to call. I promptly called the number, informed the company of the situation and they said they noted it.
Two days later I returned to the old house with a U-Haul to finish getting the remaining furniture and belongings and found that the locks had been changed, my utilities turned off and the house winterized.
I immediately called the number again and they told me I was out of luck.
After a couple of weeks of back and forth with the bank who had taken ownership of the house, they admitted the mistake, said I should have been giving eviction notice and sent a maintenance man with me to the house to let me in to get my things.
On 10/22/14 is when I was finally granted access to the house with the maintenance man. When we entered we found that my television and speakers totaling $1299.99 had been taken from the finished basement. Speaker cables had been pulled from the walls, the air hockey table flipped over, and worst of all, the hot water heater had been emptied right onto the floor - which was carpeted.

We made a police report with the Summit County Sheriff Dept. and a neighbor said she saw the man who did the lock out loading the items into his van back on 10/01/14.

I have been in contact with the company and they are refusing to pay me restitution for my stolen property by their employee.
What are my legal rights for being compensated for my property? We no longer had insurance at that house at the time since it was bank owned.

Thank you in advance and sorry this was so long!

 

[Ohiogal]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

I apologize if this isn't the correct place to post this question.

Here is a little background info about this situation.
My husband and I entered into a land contract in 2007, paid $5000 down and dutifully paid $1000/month and put lots of time and money into improving the property until January 2011 when we discovered that the seller hadn't paid the property taxes or mortgage in years and the house was in foreclosure.
Long story short, we were granted permission from the judge to stop payments and live rent free in the house until the time of the sheriff auction as long as we continued to maintain the property in good condition.
During that time we took the $1000 we should have been paying and put it into a savings account for a down payment on a new house with a traditional mortgage.
We closed on our new home in August of this year and were slowly in the process of moving -the sheriff auction was scheduled for 9/19/14. We also understood that after the auction we were to be given a 90 day eviction notice to vacate the property.
We started moving on 8/20/14. We still had utilities on at the house we were moving out of. Most of our large items like furniture, etc had been moved, but everything was still untouched in the finished basement. At this point we were spending nights in the new house, but still slowly moving out of the old place while we cleaned and painted the new place.

On 9/30/14 a neighbor called to tell me to come to the old house, a company had been there and posted a sign saying they found the residence to be abandoned and if that wasn't the case, there was a number to call. I promptly called the number, informed the company of the situation and they said they noted it.
Two days later I returned to the old house with a U-Haul to finish getting the remaining furniture and belongings and found that the locks had been changed, my utilities turned off and the house winterized.
I immediately called the number again and they told me I was out of luck.
After a couple of weeks of back and forth with the bank who had taken ownership of the house, they admitted the mistake, said I should have been giving eviction notice and sent a maintenance man with me to the house to let me in to get my things.
On 10/22/14 is when I was finally granted access to the house with the maintenance man. When we entered we found that my television and speakers totally $1299.99 had been taken from the finished basement. Speaker cables had been pulled from the walls, the airhockey table flipped over, and worst of all, the hot water heater had been emptied right onto the floor - which was carpeted.

We made a police report with the Summit County Sheriff Dept. and a neighbor said she saw the man who did the lock out loading the items into his van back on 10/01/14.

I have been in contact with the company and they are refusing to pay me restitution for my stolen property by their employee.
What are my legal rights for being compensated for my property? We no longer had insurance at that property at the time since it was bank owned.

Thank you in advance and sorry this was so long!

Why does the company owe you anything? Sue the employee who stole the stuff.

 

[JewelK]

Why does the company owe you anything? Sue the employee who stole the stuff.

The company owes me because a person they sent to my residence committed a crime. Shouldn't they be held responsible for the conduct of a person they are trusting to go into people's homes?

Also, I don't even know the name of the employee! The company hasn't been cooperating with the sheriff dept.

 

[quincy]

The company owes me because a person they sent to my residence committed a crime. Shouldn't they be held responsible for the conduct of a person they are trusting to go into people's homes?

Also, I don't even know the name of the employee! The company hasn't been cooperating with the sheriff dept.

Was the company aware of the employee's propensity to steal prior to hiring him or was this the employee's first theft?

The company is smart not to cooperate with the sheriff's department if there is any chance the company could be held liable for the employee's theft.

 

[Ohiogal]

The company owes me because a person they sent to my residence committed a crime. Shouldn't they be held responsible for the conduct of a person they are trusting to go into people's homes?

Also, I don't even know the name of the employee! The company hasn't been cooperating with the sheriff dept.

Why do you believe they have to deal with the Summit County Sheriff's office? Hint: They don't have to cooperate. And no, the company doesn't owe you. The employee owes you if anyone does. Is this the same house you and your husband were being kicked out of in 2012? Back then you were going to sue for $50k.

 

[quincy]

Why do you believe they have to deal with the Summit County Sheriff's office? Hint: They don't have to cooperate. And no, the company doesn't owe you. The employee owes you if anyone does. Is this the same house you and your husband were being kicked out of in 2012? Back then you were going to sue for $50k.

A company CAN be held liable for the criminal acts of its employees.

If a company hires a person with a criminal background, for example, or learns of an employee's crime or crimes that occurred either before or after hiring, and they put that employee in a position that could/would expose others to harm, then a person who is harmed by the employee could sue (and collect damages from) the company over the company's negligent hiring or negligent retention of the employee.

Therefore, if the company knew in advance of the theft of items from JewelK's house that the company employee had been convicted of theft in the past, putting that employee in a position where s/he had access to valuable items could be/would be negligent. JewelK could potentially have actions to pursue against both the employee who stole the items and the company that placed the employee in her house.

As a note: I have not reviewed JewelK's posting history.

 

[Ohiogal]

A company CAN be held liable for the criminal acts of its employees.

If a company hires a person with a criminal background, for example, or learns of an employee's crime or crimes that occurred either before or after hiring, and they put that employee in a position that could/would expose others to harm, then a person who is harmed by the employee could sue (and collect damages from) the company over the company's negligent hiring or negligent retention of the employee.

Therefore, if the company knew in advance of the theft of items from JewelK's house that the company employee had been convicted of theft in the past, putting that employee in a position where s/he had access to valuable items could be/would be negligent. JewelK could potentially have actions to pursue against both the employee who stole the items and the company that placed the employee in her house.

As a note: I have not reviewed JewelK's posting history.

JewelK has not alleged that the company KNEW that the employee had a past. If she had stated that, then it would change the answer. Based on what she has posted, the company doesn't owe her anything. She should have had her property insured. Anyone could have broken in and stolen from her. And her posting history (one post) bears reviewing.

 

[quincy]

JewelK has not alleged that the company KNEW that the employee had a past. If she had stated that, then it would change the answer. Based on what she has posted, the company doesn't owe her anything. She should have had her property insured. Anyone could have broken in and stolen from her. And her posting history (one post) bears reviewing.

I read JewelK's first thread from 2012. Her post gave rise to a lot of questions that were left unanswered, huh?

I don't dispute that the company might not be held responsible for the theft of items. I just wanted to make it clear that the employee might not be the only one who could be held liable for the theft. Given the right facts and circumstances, the company could also be held responsible.

I am not sure there is evidence enough to support JewelK's belief that the employee is the thief, either. The neighbor/witness could help in a police investigation, perhaps, but might not on its own allow for charges or a winnable civil action.

It would have been smart to have all items that were left in the vacant home for later collection adequately insured.

You can speak with an attorney in your area for a personal review, JewelK, to determine what actions might be available to pursue (and against whom).

 

[LdiJ]

I read JewelK's first thread from 2012. Her post gave rise to a lot of questions that were left unanswered, huh?

I don't dispute that the company might not be held responsible for the theft of items. I just wanted to make it clear that the employee might not be the only one who could be held liable for the theft. Given the right facts and circumstances, the company could also be held responsible.

I am not sure there is evidence enough to support JewelK's belief that the employee is the thief, either. The neighbor/witness could help in a police investigation, perhaps, but might not on its own allow for charges or a winnable civil action.

It would have been smart to have all items that were left in the vacant home for later collection adequately insured.

You can speak with an attorney in your area for a personal review, JewelK, to determine what actions might be available to pursue (and against whom).

I am familiar with companies that do clean/clear outs for banks claiming foreclosed properties. The people doing the clean/clear outs are basically allowed to take anything portable they want that has been left in the home...rather than throwing it away. Since those are the same people who inspect the homes for the banks to advise them whether or not they have been abandoned, its unfortunately not totally uncommon for them to declare a house as abandoned if there is something in the house that appears to be of value if they can even remotely justify calling the home abandoned. They also take things sometimes that have been promised to new buyers of the home, like appliances and window treatments.

I have a couple of them as tax clients. I have heard quite a few horror stories about their more dishonest competitors. The OP has a better shot at getting compensation for the fact that they were not given 90 days notice, than compensation for the stolen items.

I can also guarantee that the person in question was not an employee of the bank/mortgage company either. They probably were not an employee of the company that the bank hired to clean/clear out the house either. They were probably a subcontractor.

The OP's mistake was either not moving everything all at once, or not giving priority to the items that had the most value. The stolen items should have been amongst the first things removed from the home.

Let that be a lesson to anyone else in that situation who might eventually read this thread. Get your valuable items/most sentimental/most necessary items out the first day...or get everything out all at once. Don't assume that you can take weeks to get everything out.

 

[JewelK]

Why do you believe they have to deal with the Summit County Sheriff's office? Hint: They don't have to cooperate. And no, the company doesn't owe you. The employee owes you if anyone does. Is this the same house you and your husband were being kicked out of in 2012? Back then you were going to sue for $50k.

So how do suppose I find out who the employee is if the company won't cooperate?

And no, we we weren't being, "kicked out" of the house, we had been paying for the house in a LAND CONTRACT to buy it. The seller defaulted on the mortgage and the taxes even though we had been dutifully paying them. And yes, we were trying to recover our money for a home that we had been living in and fixing up and then were going to have the rug pulled out from under us. Any reasonable person wouldn't just want to walk away from an investment like that.
We worked with the court where the seller ended up filing bankruptcy and agreed to be able to live there rent free until the sheriff auction of the house. That worked for us in this instance since the seller was a deadbeat.

 

[JewelK]

I am familiar with companies that do clean/clear outs for banks claiming foreclosed properties. The people doing the clean/clear outs are basically allowed to take anything portable they want that has been left in the home...rather than throwing it away. Since those are the same people who inspect the homes for the banks to advise them whether or not they have been abandoned, its unfortunately not totally uncommon for them to declare a house as abandoned if there is something in the house that appears to be of value if they can even remotely justify calling the home abandoned. They also take things sometimes that have been promised to new buyers of the home, like appliances and window treatments.

I have a couple of them as tax clients. I have heard quite a few horror stories about their more dishonest competitors. The OP has a better shot at getting compensation for the fact that they were not given 90 days notice, than compensation for the stolen items.

I can also guarantee that the person in question was not an employee of the bank/mortgage company either. They probably were not an employee of the company that the bank hired to clean/clear out the house either. They were probably a subcontractor.

The OP's mistake was either not moving everything all at once, or not giving priority to the items that had the most value. The stolen items should have been amongst the first things removed from the home.

Let that be a lesson to anyone else in that situation who might eventually read this thread. Get your valuable items/most sentimental/most necessary items out the first day...or get everything out all at once. Don't assume that you can take weeks to get everything out.

The company was a maintenance company who was hired to only change the locks and winterize the house - not clean it out.
I spoke with a representative of the bank numerous times who said over and over that items weren't to be removed. It wasn't a clean out.
Nothing else was taken except the electronics. And the person basically trashed the basement by draining the hot water tank onto the floor. Literally ran the hose right to the middle of the floor, didn't even attempt to get to the utility sink with the other end of the hose. Another thing I didn't mention in my original post is that we had left a packet of bottle rockets in the garage and the person set them all off in the back yard. That's why the neighbor was watching what was going on in the first place.

The reason we were taking our time with the move is because we have 4 children and my husband works a hectic job and has a 110 mile round trip commute 6 days a week from the Akron area to the Cleveland area. July to December is his very busy season and he couldn't take any time off of work. We we moving in the evenings and on Sundays and I would go over during the day with our toddler and try to get what I could in my car while the older kids were at school. We did get all of our valuables, sentimental items, furniture, etc from the upstairs. Hadn't started on the basement because we were just in a time crunch. Wasn't too concerned about anyone looking in the windows and seeing things since they were in a basement.

Yes, it was a mistake on our part to not get everything out at once. I don't think that means we deserve to have our property stolen. As I stated previously, the items weren't insured because when we closed on our new house our homeowner's policy took over at the new place. Our State Farm agent said it wasn't advisable to carry renter's insurance on the other house when it was bank owned and we were moving out.
It's just a very upsetting situation all around.

 

[quincy]

So how do suppose I find out who the employee is if the company won't cooperate? ...

What has happened with the police investigation?

 

[JewelK]

What has happened with the police investigation?

As of today I am waiting for the deputy I filed the report with to come back to work so I can speak with him again. He's on 3 days, off 3 days. Should be back Monday.
I did call the records dept and had the report read to me - basically it's still open and as of the time the deputy last updated it he was unable to reach a representative of the company after leaving 2 messages.

I mailed in my request this afternoon for a copy of the police report.

I also sent an email to the deputy with the updated phone number that is a direct line to the woman I had personally been speaking with at the company.
(At the time I filed the report I only had the 800 number from the sign posted on the door.)

 

[quincy]

As of today I am waiting for the deputy I filed the report with to come back to work so I can speak with him again. He's on 3 days, off 3 days. Should be back Monday.
I did call the records dept and had the report read to me - basically it's still open and as of the time the deputy last updated it he was unable to reach a representative of the company after leaving 2 messages.

I mailed in my request this afternoon for a copy of the police report.

I also sent an email to the deputy with the updated phone number that is a direct line to the woman I had personally been speaking with at the company.
(At the time I filed the report I only had the 800 number from the sign posted on the door.)

You need the police investigation to result in the identification of an individual or a company as a suspect in the theft, subject to their arrest and the filing of charges - or you need to conduct your own investigation by hiring a private detective that results in an arrest and charges.

But pointing fingers at or accusing a company or an individual of theft, without evidence of their wrongdoing (i.e., an arrest, charges, a conviction), can get you sued for defamation. You must be careful what you say.

No company is going to come forward and claim responsibility for the theft of your items, in other words. It is not to their benefit to do so. Anyone could have stolen the items from the vacant home so I think calling the company is probably going to be an exercise in futility.

Good luck, though. It is really too bad that you did not have your belongings insured.