Q: Ex friend threatening to sue for harassment, emotional distress and asked court to return belongings
An old friend of mine was staying at my apartment for about half a month. She never paid rent nor got mail at my establishment. She left belongings here after willingly leaving my home. I have not heard from her in two months. She comes to my door two months later banging and screaming threatening to break in and destroy my property.I have now been given a notice from her saying that she is filing a civil case against me. There has been no contact between me and her in the past two months. Does she have a case? I’m still in possession of her things, but don’t want to return due to her threats to me. I have not been in contact with this friend for months. Nor have I said anything about her in anyway until she showed up to my house . I also have messages of her threatening to harm me, a few days before she showed up to my house. I never responded to any of these messages she sent.
A: If you have any property that you know belongs to some other person the wise thing for you to do is to return the property to the owner. If you don't the owner can sue you under Florida's bailment statutes. They could also file a complaint with the local police department alleging that you stole the property. In either event you should give the property back immediately.
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