Unknowingly bought stolen property...

[gogreen18]

I bought some snowboards off C.L. then I was contacted by the sheriff telling me they were stolen. The serial number matched and they were recovered. Now i'm down $500. The sheriff said they had been tracking the boards on C.L. and they had been through several transactions. Can I take the guy who sold me the boards to small claims courts and recover my money even though he didn't know they were stolen either?

 

[jharris352]

Yes you can. He can do a third party claim back to the person he bought them from and so forth until you find the person that stole them.

 

[gogreen18]

What are my chances of winning? And what kind of legal fees (lawyers) will he have to pay if i win?

Thanks so much!

 

[jharris352]

Go to small claims court so that you don't have to pay an attorney.

 

[gogreen18]

i ask because i too sold the boards and the person i sold them to wants to go to small claims. I have no problem returning his money but i would like to do it knowing I can do the same to the guy who sold them to me. That way this all gets resolved equally. The guy who sold them to me said if i lose I will have to pay his legal fees as well as the board money. I assume these "fees" are lawyers fee or some sort of legal counsel fees.

 

[jharris352]

The fees are the court costs. 75-125 dollars. If he sues you, you can sue the person you bought them from in the same case.

 

[gogreen18]

Right...that's why losing isn't necessarily a bad thing. Well thanks for clearing that up. I though by fees he meant some sort of legal counsel...

 

[mightymoose]

Attorneys aren't allowed in small claims anyway. He wouldn't have anything in the way of legal fees. You would be the one paying court fees in order to bring the claim against him, so he has nothing to ask for. He can recover his loss from the next guy in line.