What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? WI
Hi all, I have an old tenant that rented a space from me to run a small Asian food market. He closed the store down and said he was moving out in Feb of 2009. He moved most of his stuff out and left a giant mess with rest of of it...it filled a whole dump truck. He also left 3 big coolers there and said he couldn't find a place for them and asked if he could store them there until he found someone to buy them. I said he could for $100 a month, but when i find a new tenant that he had to remove them. Nothing written down, all verbal. He paid until about August of 2009 and then I never saw any money or heard from him at all. I was moving my office and shop into the space, So about May of 2010 I tossed all his garbage and gave the coolers away to a buddy of mine that owns a gas station in a different part of the state. I didn't contact him at all as I figured he just wanted nothing to do with them any more. Now he is calling me, saying he has a guy that wants to buy his coolers and he couldn't get in to show them to his buyer cuz I changed the locks and his key didn't work...duh!
I don't think this is true, but he said he talked his lawyer and he said that I had no right to change the locks if I didn't own what was in the space...well I do own the space and now all my stuff is there. But I am sure he was trying to scare me. But none the less, am I going to have to get the coolers back from my friend that I am sure paid lots of money to have them hooked up since I didn't contact him and tell him I was getting rid of them after 8 months of not hearing from him? Or was it abandoned when he quit paying and didn't say anything to me? What should I tell him? I was there one day when his buyer strolled in and asked if he could see the coolers and I told him that I got rid of them. Thanks for any help.
Hi all, I have an old tenant that rented a space from me to run a small Asian food market. He closed the store down and said he was moving out in Feb of 2009. He moved most of his stuff out and left a giant mess with rest of of it...it filled a whole dump truck. He also left 3 big coolers there and said he couldn't find a place for them and asked if he could store them there until he found someone to buy them. I said he could for $100 a month, but when i find a new tenant that he had to remove them. Nothing written down, all verbal. He paid until about August of 2009 and then I never saw any money or heard from him at all. I was moving my office and shop into the space, So about May of 2010 I tossed all his garbage and gave the coolers away to a buddy of mine that owns a gas station in a different part of the state. I didn't contact him at all as I figured he just wanted nothing to do with them any more. Now he is calling me, saying he has a guy that wants to buy his coolers and he couldn't get in to show them to his buyer cuz I changed the locks and his key didn't work...duh!
I don't think this is true, but he said he talked his lawyer and he said that I had no right to change the locks if I didn't own what was in the space...well I do own the space and now all my stuff is there. But I am sure he was trying to scare me. But none the less, am I going to have to get the coolers back from my friend that I am sure paid lots of money to have them hooked up since I didn't contact him and tell him I was getting rid of them after 8 months of not hearing from him? Or was it abandoned when he quit paying and didn't say anything to me? What should I tell him? I was there one day when his buyer strolled in and asked if he could see the coolers and I told him that I got rid of them. Thanks for any help.