Re: PA's Bailment Law
With all due respect to Valko, I suspect that if our inquirer had access to Purdon's and its index, he would have looked up bailments. And he wouldn't have found his answer because it's common law, not a statute. There is a old statute about bailments but it doesn't really say much about this situation.
I also disagree with the substance of Valko's advice. THe garage does not guarantee the safety of cars in its custody. They are not automatically responsible for the damage, but I think there's a pretty good case that they were negligent.
I remember this topic of bailments caused a lot of puzzlement in law school, so let's define it. Someone obviously told this person that bailment law applied. Basically, a "bailment" is when someone takes temporary possession of someone else's property, without a transfer of ownership.
Bailment law says that the garage, when it takes possession of another's property, must use reasonable care to return it intact. The degree of care depends on the purpose of the bailment, but an express contract between the parties can alter that. Ever read the ticket you get when you park in a pay garage?
The practical thing to do, in this situation, is not to research the law books. The thing to do is:
1. Put in a claim under your own automobile insurance if you have comprehensive coverage. Let them pay you the loss, and they can pursue the garage and return your deductible.
2. If you didn't have comprehensive coverage, then write up a list of your damages, take it to the local District Justice Office, and file a small claims complaint. You'll get a hearing date, and when you go to the judge, you tell him what happened, and you say they had a duty of reasonable care. At a minimum, if they couldn't keep the car inside, they should have locked it.
It's really a guestion of fact, not law.
