QUESTION

What can I do if my leasing office removed my personal items? How?

Asked on May 21st, 2015 on Landlord and Tenant Law - Michigan
More details to this question:
About two and a half months ago, I moved into a new apartment building. On the day that I moved in, the apartment still contained items that belonged to the tenant that inhabited the space before me. There was an entire wall of dressers/armoires that I did not want to keep. I asked the leasing office to have those removed while I headed over to my storage unit to load a uhaul and move all of my possessions into the new apartment. Before I left the building to load up the truck, I unloaded a car full of my things. I moved in a closet full of clothes, a few of my dog's items, as well as a suitcase full of books, undergarments, jewelry, make-up, etc. The items were placed on top of the kitchen counter, on the other side of where the armoires/dressers were. I proceeded to load the uhaul truck and after an exhausting day, I decided to wake up early in the morning and unload the truck. When I arrived at the apartment, all of my items were removed, including the armoires and dressers that were left behind from the last tenant. I spoke to the front desk security guard, the leasing office, and no one was able to tell me where my items were removed to. After hours of confusion, the leasing confirmed that there was a miscommunication between the office workers and the maintenance people and ALL of the items were dumped out. A closet full of my clothes and all of my items were simply thrown out into the trash. I gave the leasing office an itemized list of items I had lost along with photos to prove that those items existed. Of course, I was not able to provide them receipts because I had not kept anything since many of the items I have had for a very long time. I work in fashion some of the items I lost included a one-of-a-kind Sue Wong cocktail dress, a Balenciaga purse, a diamond Chanel necklace, evening gowns, etc. They came back and offered me only $2,000 to compensate me for my losses. I don't think that's fair. Help?
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3 ANSWERS

Litigation Attorney serving Bakersfield, CA at Dessy & Dessy
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If you don't like the offer made by the leasing company, you should submit a proposal for settlement of your claim. If an agreement cannot be reached then you will need to file a lawsuit for damages. There is no expectation that you will have kept receipts for items required long ago,but they do help prove the amount of your claim. Unless you can justify a significant value to the items lost and thereby convince an attorney to handle your claim on a percentage fee, it may be in your best interest to proceed through small claims court where you can get up to $10,000, is that process goes quickly and neither side is permitted and attorney.
Answered on May 21st, 2015 at 6:37 PM

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Business Law Attorney serving Bingham Farms, MI at James T. Weiner, P.C.
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You need to come up with an estimate of fair market value of the items you lost..if they will not compensate you you need to sue them.
Answered on May 21st, 2015 at 6:15 PM

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Appellate Attorney serving Grosse Pointe Farms, MI at Musilli Brennan Associates, PLLC
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See an attorney, if you can PROVE your losses you should be entitled to the actual cash value (sale value) of your losses.
Answered on May 21st, 2015 at 5:42 PM

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