Liability for damages belongings

[CarharOneT]

Jurisdiction

California

EDIT: Oops, The title should read "liability for damaged belongings" sorry for the typo.

Short version:
I let my friend store her things on my property in a shed in my backyard. The shed leaked and some of her things have been damaged. Am I liable for the damage?

Longer version:
She's not my friend. She's my ex-wife. When she moved out, she did not take her belongings with her. I agreed that she could keep her belongings in the shed that I bought when we were married. She knows as much as I do about the shed so while maybe I should have anticipated it leaking, she could have anticipated that as well. It has been over 4 years since she moved out and she has never made any effort to retrieve her things. We are now moving her things into a storage unit that she'll pay for. She may notice that some of the things are damaged. I have always acted on good faith but the items became damaged on my property. Am I liable?

 

[zddoodah]

Some questions for you:

1. Who owns the property where the shed is located?

2. Is it property you acquired when you were married? Or did you acquire it after you were married?

3. If it was acquired during the marriage, was it acquired in both your names? Or just your name?

4. If it was acquired in both your names, did your ex transfer her ownership interest to you as part of the divorce?

5. Is there any sort of written agreement relating to the storage of the items in the shed?

6. Who put the items in the shed? You? She? Both of you? Someone else?

7. At any point during the four years the items were in the shed, did you enter or look in the shed? Did she?

 

[adjusterjack]

Equally important questions:

1 - What kind of shed?
2 - What's it made of? Wood? Medal?
3 - What kind of roof? Flat? Pitched?
4 - What's the roof covered with? Shingles? Metal? Something else?
5 - Do you have knowledge of any prior leaks?
6 - Does your ex-wife have knowledge of any prior leaks?
7 - If yes to 5 and/or 6, were those leaks repaired?

 

[CarharOneT]

Thank you for the great questions. All the items in the shed are my ex wife's. Some obtained prior, many items during. But we're talking about things like books, rubber stamps, Christmas decorations. I never considered these things to be "ours" even during the marriage. The separation agreement doesn't explicitly call out these items, it just says that I am entitled to:
pre-marital and post-separation earnings, accumulations, and
debts;
(my name)'s clothing, jewelry, furniture, appliances, and personal
belongings in his possession, custody, or control; i


And similarly, it says my ex-wife is entitled to:

(ex-wife's) clothing, jewelry, furniture, appliances, and personal belongings in her possession, custody, or control;

Neither of us was ever aware of leaks previously. Everything was in storage bins and I was unaware of cracks in the bins.
The entire shed is made of a very hard plastic. I bought it for her to store some of her her things in 2008 and it has been sitting in direct sunlight for 14 years.

Some of the items I placed in the shed, some she placed in the shed. I'd say the items that were damaged were mostly placed in the shed by me. She was aware that's where they were. There was no written agreement whatsoever except that she could keep these items in my backyard indefinitely. I only suggested she remove the items when I discovered that the roof had leaked. The roof is slanted but I think it's made of plastic like the rest of the shed.

If I should hire a lawyer, I will. If that's unnecessary, I won't worry about it.
Thank you!

 

[army judge]

If I should hire a lawyer, I will. If that's unnecessary, I won't worry about it.

If the two parties can agree upon a monetary value of the damaged items, it might be less costly and time consuming to attempt to do so.

If there is an agreement be sure to reduce it to writing, have both parties to sign and date the document.

Once that is done, make sure you get a signed receipt (by both parties), and it is notated that the agreed upon amount fully compensates the aggrieved party.

Again, provide both parties with an original, signed, dated, notated document.

Finally, if you have a homeowners insurance policy, you could investigate if the insurer would compensate your former spouse. That angles depends on if your deductible isn't $1,000 or more. It might also increase your premium, so that's another part of your decision calculus.

 

[adjusterjack]

Having had no knowledge of the leak until you discovered it, you would not be legally liable for any damage caused by the leak.

However, once you discovered the leak it was your duty to remove the items and/or repackage them to prevent further damage.

If you didn't, or won't, do that you will be legally liable for any further damage that occurs.

My advice: Get that stuff out of the shed, clean-dry-and repair as needed, and get new plastic containers for the stuff.

 

[CarharOneT]

zddoodah:

I just realized I completely misunderstood your question when you said, "The property where the shed is located." I took that to mean you were asking who owned the belongings *IN* the shed. I now have reread your question and realize you are talking about the land where the shed resides.

My ex-wife and I acquired the real estate where the shed resides while we were married, so it was community property. I wrote her a check for her equity in the property and she relinquished all claim to the title. Her belongings were damaged by rain when the shed roof leaked well after she had relinquished claim to the home/yard.

As an aside, I have texted her, told her that some of her belongings were damaged in the shed, and have suggested a resolution.

Movers are coming tomorrow to transport her things into a new storage unit that she has rented. I wanted her to split the cost of the movers, which will be significant at $136/hour. I have now suggested that I will pay 100% of the cost of the movers in exchange for her releasing me from any liability of damage to her things. She has indicated in a text message that she's open to this resolution. I will get it in writing. Thank you.

 

[adjusterjack]

Problem solved.



Thread closed.