duties

[Bud Fox]

son loaned navy blazer to girl to warm her on a walk from a party in austin texas. Girl left with coat and left coat at friends home in austin. son talked to girl back in fort worth and then to the girl where the coat was left in her home in austin. the girl said she would ship the coat to my son. the coat has not arrived and no contact can be made with the girl who had said she would ship it. the blazer has a replacement value of aprox. $600. does either of the two girls have a legal duty to safe gaurd this property or return it and if so what remedies are available.

 

[QCP]

Yes, there is a responsibility for a person to exercise "reasonable" care for a loaned item. But if you have a cause of action, it is against the first girl who was the borrower, not with whom she left it.

If you do wish to recover from the borrower, forget replacement value. Matter of fact, clothing depreciates at an extreme rate- expect the coat to go down in value by as much as 50% PER YEAR since it was originally purchased.

Bottom line- kid took a risk and looks like he lost. Tough to prove negligence in these types of cases.