Q: I found out a friend who was keeping my parrots gave them to a rescue without contacting me to get them back.
She has not answered her phone and seems to have up and moved away. She gave them to a bird rescue, where he acknowledges the birds are mine (we messaged and talked by phone) but says I have to legally go after her, not him. I have proof in writing that this woman and I had an agreement and that the birds are indeed mine. The police say she no longer lives where she was. I tried working with the man who has the birds, as he helped me find and get back two others given to someone else, but now he's saying it's between me and this woman. The worth of the birds is approx. $1600. All the parties involved live in Indiana. He won't give me the name of the rescue but I have his name and phone number (he's several hours away from me). Thank you for anything I can do to recover my birds
A: Based on the facts, it appears you do have a civil claim for approximately 1600.00 against your friend. The problem is you will need to locate her in order to effectively bring the lawsuit. Also, if you believe she lives in the state of Indiana, the lawsuit will need to be filed in Indiana. The written agreement can be used as evidence of the understanding between the parties. It is best you reach out to a civil litigator in the state of Indiana and provide them with a copy of the written agreement for review. They will be able to properly advise you of your rights with regard to the law in Indiana.
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