Q: How do I take back possession of my property when I do not know where it is?
I was selling my generator, and my friends were all spreading the word, I had two of my friends come over to my house today they told me that someone they knew wanted to buy it, but they had to take it to him because he was without a way to come and buy it himself, so I allowed them to take it to this person with the understanding they would bring the $200 that i was asking for it to me. They sent me a text message saying that I had purchased a stolen generator and that they were unable to get it back from the person who was going to purchase it. My friends went on to inform me the "buyer" was going to file charges on me. I contacted the person I bought it from and he is in the process of looking for the paperwork on it. I would like to know what I can do to get my generator back from whomever has it, and what kind of legal action I can take against the people who were supposed to buy it as well as my two friends if they are lying about the "buyers" they went to meet.
A: It seems like you have been caught in a scheme of some sort. If you were never paid then most likely you won't have any liability to the purchaser. If your friends took the money and never delivered it to you then you might have liability if the generator is then taken from the purchaser because it was stolen. Your scenario is actually pretty complicated so it is too bad that the value you are talking about is so low that it would probably not be worth hiring a lawyer to help you out. You can always take anyone involved to small claims court and if you hire a lawyer to represent you then he or she might be awarded attorney fees so that would help your situation out a bit. It is too bad this happened to you though. In the future you will want to use contracts and get quite a bit of information up front before letting your property go anywhere. The foregoing answer is provided by Douglas J Shumway, Esq.: (801) 478-8080. The answer provided is not intended to form an attorney client relationship and should not be construed as legal advice. Mr. Shumway is licensed only in Utah. Mr. Shumway's law firm has offices in Salt Lake City, San Antonio and Las Vegas.
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