Legal Question in Business Law in New Hampshire

Stolen Bike Repairs

Your case presents some difficult fact patterns. I do not believe you can collect from the real owners unless your jurisdiction recognizes a theory called unjust enrichment. At the very least you can request the criminal court to force the criminals to pay restitution for the moneys that you paid as part of sentencing. I suggest you contact the District Attorneys office for assistance.

I am not an attorney in your jurisdiction and I suggest you seek the advice of local legal counsel.

Unjust Enrichment.

There is a claim available under the laws of equity(a technical legal distinction, but in a word, a setof laws with a little less weight than the rest, the "legal" claims). I suggest you have a local attorneycontact the owners and offer to buy it from them for, say, $500 (leaving you out the $200 you paid to the theives -- your fault, but not giving you the advantageyou didn't deserve of getting a $500 bike for $200).

Their alternative would be to sued by you for the valueof what you put into the bike, your attorney would explain,which they didn't earn and really isn't theirs to keep.

They might prefer to have you take this bike than to come upwith $18xx in cash and to be dragged through the courts to boot.

You really need to consult a local attorney. Do it soon. If you tell me what town you're from, I MIGHT be able to give you the name of some pretty sharp attorneys I know from my days oflaw school who practice in New Hampshire. (Checkfor a Steve Faberman, for example. There are others.)

Good luck.