Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland
abandoned property
One of my ex-employees has left
furniture in my office. This is
furniture she brought with her and I
believed she had every intention to
taking back with her when she left
my employ. However, it is taking up
room in one of my offices, and I have
asked when she intends to remove it
without receiving an answer. How
long do I have to keep it before I can
throw it out? Do I need to send a
certified letter requesting that she
remove the furniture and letting her
know that if she doesn't pick it up, I
will throw it out? Am I responsible
for storage fees if I move the
furniture and store it while I am
waiting for her to pick it up? What
happens if she does move the
furniture and damages the walls and
doors when moving the furniture
out? Can she sue me if I move her
furniture out of my office? How can
I prevent her from claiming damages
to the furniture once I move it?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: abandoned property
I suggest you send her a letter to her last known address, giving her a fixed amount of time to remove the furniture. State in the letter that you will assume that if she doesn't remove the items by that date, she intends to abandon the property. You can then dispose of the furniture as you see fit, such as by donating it to charity, in which case the institution will usually pick it up free of charge. If you incur expense in having it removed, you could try to get reimbursement from her but this would probably be difficult and not worth it. Finally, if she does come to pick it up and causes damages to the premises in doing so, she would be responsible for that.
Re: abandoned property
If she is an at-will employee (that is not a 1099 employee) then her personal effects should have been removed upon her departure (or reasonable time thereof.) You could provide her with notice of 15 days removal if you believe this is cordial but are not required to do so.
If she is a 1099 employee then this would be part of your agreement for services. As a 1099 employee she could claim that you removed property without cause. In this instance you should provide notice and availability during reasonable business hours for her to move her property.
If she damages the premises during removal then this would be a cost that she will bear and you should place her on notice of this.
Without knowing the business or ordinary operations I cannot speak as to immediacy of any actions you plan to take. Certified mail may delay your intentions. Regular first class mail may suffice.
Contact me should you want to speak of particulars.
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