Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Who is responsible for my loss?
I had a man who works for me around the house on occasion that is employed fulltime as a salaried employee by a man who manages and owns several apartments and house. Last month he was working on one of the properties remodeling a bathroom for his employer. They didn�t have a tile saw so the man who has done some work for me asked if they could borrow my tile saw for a few days. The following night the jobsite was broke into and my tile saw was stolen along with some of their own tools. Who is the individual that is responsible for replacing my tile saw, the man who asked if they could use it or the man who owned the property and employed the man who borrowed it who was working on the mans property?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Who is responsible for my loss?
If there was no negligence as to the break in, neither of them may be legally responsible. It would not be their fault that your saw was taken and you did not have them sign a contract saying that they are liable for the property [as the contract states when you borrow a tool from a rental organization].
Check if they have insurance that covers the losses; do you have any insurance coverage? Ther is a state fund for victims of criminal acts, but it is normally short of funding.
Normally, the acts of an agent are attribited to that of the employer. Was the jos site locked up correctly, secure enough, in a high crime area? If no chance of collectig that way, see if the landlord will be nice and give you a rent reduction. If you sue in Small Claims Court you will definitely anger the landlord and his employee and most likely lose.
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