Florida Abandoned property? Florida

[ejok]

I let a friend store a small refrigerator full of film and a large box of photo paper in my condo when he was "in between places." He is not a legal resident of Florida--he was only here for college.

The friend as of now (or as long as he's been in Florida, to the best of my knowledge) has no permanent residence, he's currently "couch surfing" (i.e. "being a bum") and will not return texts or emails regarding collecting his items. I did, however, text his girlfriend who said she would remind him to collect his items.

The items have been in my storage closet for nearly a year. I am moving at the end of the month and I am wondering--if he does not collect the items before I move or before he returns to his home state of Indiana--can I dispose of them? Or do these items have to move with me?



I'm also not sure if this question is posed in the proper forum, if not please direct me to the correct one.

Thank you.

[thelawprofessor]

From what I have seen, if you make a reasonable attempt to contact the owner, you can dispose of them as you see fit. it would be hard to believe that after 6-8 months anyone would be able to claim that they didn't abandon their property. Don't quote me on this but it's a rule and common sense that I've seen applied consistently.