<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ERIC:
I RECENTLY PAWNED A SUBWOOFER COMPONENT BOX,BUT WHEN I CAME TO REDEEM MY PAWN TICKET(I DID NOT SELL IT!),THE CLERKS AND ASST. MANGER COULD NOT "FIND IT". WHILE WAITING I BROWSED THE STORE, AND "FOUND" MY SUBWOOFER BOX, MINUS 2 SPEAKERS(IT HAD 4). IT HAD ALSO BEEN DROPPED ON 2 CORNERS(ITS MADE OUT OF 0A WOOD COMPOSITE)AND THE FELT COVERING HAS BEEN TORN. I HAVE PREVIOUSLY TAKEN IT TO THIS PAWN SHOP WITH NO PROBLEMS,SO THEY KNOW THE VALUE OF THE BOX.
WHAT IS THE EXTENT OF THIER LIABILITY? SO FAR I HAVE NOT BEEN CONTACTED BACK FROM THE PAWN SHOP, BUT I WILL CALL THEM TODAY.PLEASE ADVISE IF POSSIBLE. THX !<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
This is something that you MUST put into writing, and mailed by certified return receipt. You want to make sure that you do this within the time frame for redemption of your goods, which will eliminate one of their potential defenses, e.g., that the item was theirs due to the fact you failed to redeem it on time. The pawnshop created a what is called a "bailment." As such, they had a duty to you to use great care to protect your item from loss, theft or damage. As such, and since the item sounds to be fairly damaged to the point of worthlessness, they owe you the "fair market value" of the item. For example, if you originally bought the item for $100.00, and it is now 3 years old at the time of damage, the fair market value would be what a "bonified purchaser" would have paid you for the item, if sold. I would guesstimate that the item is worth 25% to 35% less than what you originally paid for it. Put that in the letter also, "demanding" payment, within a reasonable amount of time. If they fail to pay you, they are also liable to you for the "coversion" of your item to their own, unlawful, use. A conversion can only occur after an owner has entrusted his or her property to another. Thereafter, if the possessor acts in a manner inconsistent with the owner's interests, the owner's cause of action for conversion accrues at that time. In the context of a bailment, for example, if the bailee does nothing inconsistent with the bailor's right of ownership or in repudiation of that right, the bailor's cause of action for the return of the property does not accrue until the bailee refuses a demand to surrender the property. However, although an owner's cause of action accrues when the conversion occurs even if the owner is ignorant of the wrong committed, where there has been a fraudulent concealment of the facts, the statute of limitations does not commence to run until the aggrieved party discovers or ought to have discovered the existence of the cause of action for conversion. If they fail to pay, "don't take the law into your own hands . . . you take 'em to court."
IAAL
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[This message has been edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE (edited March 14, 2000).]