Boat and Trailer Stored on My Property

[Marjie]

My question involves personal property located in the State of: West Virginia
A boat and trailer were left on my property 2 years ago. The boat trailer belongs to one person, and the boat belongs to someone else. The boat is about 25-28 ft., with a cabin, inboard motors, etc. The value of the boat is estimated to be about $10,000. The trailer is worth about $15,000-$20,000. This items were left on the side of my house until they could be moved to another location. No one has ever moved them, the grass is growing up around them, and I would like to know what my legal rights are to at least be able to send a bill for storage to the owners. If they received a bill from me, perhaps they would move the trailer and boat. Do I have a right to bill them for this long term storage, since it was only supposed to be for a week or two?

[LawResearcherMissy]

When was the last time you asked them to come pick up their property?

[Marjie]

We have asked the person who owns the trailer numberous times, at least 4 times during this summer. The person that owns the boat has been contacted 3 times in two years. I do not have the information to contact the boat owner. The person that owns the trailer is the person that worked on the boat for the boat owner. The boat owner could not pay for the mechanic work, and the boat is too big to be taken to the mechanics shop. The mechanic work was done in a rented lot by the mechanic almost 3 years ago. The mechanic lost the use of the lot which was right on the bay due to the owner of the lot selling. The boat was moved to my property until payment was made to the mechanic, who is an acquaintenace of mine. It was left on my property in the hopes that the boat owner would come up with the money to pay the mechanic who owns the trailer. The mechanic pulled the boat out of the water with his trailer to work in it. The trailer is hydraulic, and the owner of the boat had no trailer to haul such a large boat. It is my understanding that the owner of the boat has no money to pay the mechanic, and still owes the bank some money for the boat. I don't know if the loan is a personal loan, or a boat loan with title being held. All I know is I want it moved, and someone needs to pay me storage for all the months it has been at my house. They have both ignored my requests to move it. I had been praying for my ship to come in, but this was not what I had in mind.

[aardvarc]

Unless you had some pre-existing contract for storage fees, suddenly asking for them after 3 years won't cut it. And, even if by some miracle you HAD such a contract, if the guy doesn't have the money to fix or move the boat, he probably doesn't have the money to pay you storage fees either (and realistically, after 3 years, the courts aren't going to be sympathetic, even IF you could find the guy, serve him, and sue him in civil court). From a legal standpoint, the boat and trailer have effectively been "dumped" on your property. Contact your local sheriff's office, and turn the boat and trailer in as abandoned/recovered property. THEY can attempt to contact the respective owners, and failing to do so, can go through a process to seize and auction the recovered assets.

[Mr. Knowitall]

I would like to be able to tell you that West Virginia has a great set of statutes that clarify your rights and remedies, but... alas.

To the extent that the boat can be deemed a "motor vehicle", though, ("a vehicle which is or was self-propelled, including, but not limited to, automobiles, trucks, buses and motorcycles"), the statutes at WV Code Sec. §17-24A-1 et seq. may be helpful. If you have not done so already, I suggest notifying the owners of the trailer and boat by regular and certified mail that you have revoked their permission to store the boat and trailer on your property and that they must be removed by a specific date or they will be deemed abandoned. (Why regular and certified mail? They may not want to sign for the certified letter, or there may be issues with their being at work and not getting it in a timely manner, and your deadline could be imminent or have passed by the time they sign - or the certified copy of the letter may be returned to you as undeliverable.) Then see if your local enforcement agency (presumably the local police department) will treat the boat and trailer as abandoned under the statute, provide notice to the owner per statute, and take possession of them if they're not removed.

You can also try informing them that "as of Date X, you will be charged a storage fee of $Y/day", although I won't promise you that a court will enforce a unilaterally-imposed storage fee (even if it's reasonable in amount).