i locked my bike on his fence

[mingus]

i locked my mountain bike onto a private fence of a brownstone. i left it there a while--overnight--the next day it was gone. turns out the owner of the brownstone had clipped the lock and taken the bike. i called him, he said he had the bike and would be happy to return it. he did. problem is he must've taken a fit on the bicycle. brakes cut, crank shaft busted--just a mess. i couldn't even ride it home. it was a very expensive bike and i think what he did was wrong. i only left it there 24 hours. no signs were posted. nothing was viewable that told me i couldn't lock my bike onto this fence. can i sue for the damage to my bike?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

It would seem obvious that a fence of a brownstone is the property of the brownstone owner. What he did do was wrong but so was your action. You are fortunate that you still have the bike. The owner could have cut the lock and left the bike for anyone to take. Simply because you think it isn't a big deal to lock your bike on this person's fence doesn't mean that this person doesn't think it isn't an eyesore or an obstruction in front of his property. It's his/her right to keep his/her property clean -- and also his/her responsibility if someone injures themselves as a result of your bike being locked in an area where people pass by.

With regard to the damage done to your bike, it is possible you can take the brownstone owner to small claims court. You may win. However, it is possible you might not receive so much sympathy, as well as a reduction in the damages awarded as a result of a storage fee that the brownstone owner might request.

I'm sorry to hear about the problem but this is a situation that you did place yourself into by trespassing on the brownstone owner's property.