need help or advice on a small claim -civil case?

Question

i need to know what to do and where to start..
i was living with my girlfriends parents in may and i had a couch and a tv and they offered to allow me to keep them there in the garage until me and my gf could get an apartment together..well in june they asked me to leave the house and i moved back in with my family but they continued to allow me to keep my belonging there in july me and my gf moved to chicago for two months and when we came back to florida i found out that her parents had given away my couch and tv and said if we needed couches we would have to buy new ones..what i want out of this is my couch and tv back or some kind of compensation is that possible and what would i need to get that thanks

i dont have a reciept of the couch or the tv

Answer 1

You will have to go to your county court house, civil division, and file a small claims court suit. They will have all the paper work you need and explain to you the entire process. Its (depending on the county) about $65 bucks to file a small claims suit.

You and the people you are suing will be offered a chance at moderation and / or a hearing before a civil circuit judge.

Remember, in civil suits, the 'preponderance of the evidence' prevails, not like criminal where there must be a 'beyond all reasonable doubt of guilt'.

Bring all witnesses that you can.

If and when you win, along with court ordered restitution, the courts will also order the losing party to pay for the winning parties filing fees as well.

Its really pretty simple.

In Florida, all court and government is public under the 'Sunshine Law'. Go to your counties Clerk Of Court web-site and look for a link for Civil and they should have all of this information, along with the forms, available on the web.

If you can't find it... Email me with what county in Florida this happened in and I will locate it and email it back to you.

Answer 2

Here's what happened. In order to file a medical malpractice case in most states, you have to perform "due diligence" before filing the case. If you do not, you can be sanctioned by the court, non-suited and then counter-sued by the doctor. The reason for this procedure is to stop people from filing frivolous med mal cases. In order to perform due diligence, generally you have to get a doctor/specialist to review the case and determine that there may be a cause of action in medical malpractice. This is generally an expensive process. While there are many doctors who will evaluate such cases and find malpractice, the case really needs to be strong. My guess is they moved to superior court so the case can be evaluated as a medical malpractice case and dismissed because you did not follow the proper procedure before filing the case. This could vary from state to state, and each state has its own procedure for filing such cases. But the doctor has no reason to move it to a Court where he or she has more exposure unless they intend to have it thrown out and/or to sue you. Again, I don't know what the rules are in your state, nor am I about to put in hours of research to find out, but that's what I think is happening. You may want to consult a local attorney about this. Procedure in superior court is much different than in small claims, and you may be exposed to a suit against you.

Answer 3

In life, you will have many problems. The couch and tv are not valued high enough to take the necessary legal actions and time it takes to get your belongings back. Just be careful who you trust wilth your items next time.

Answer 4

Yes -- you can sue them for the cost of replacing the couch and TV.

When they said you could store the property -- they created what the law calls "bailment" -- the property was effectively held in trust for you. When they disposed of your property, that was "conversion" -- and you can sue for the cost of replacement.