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Former Tenant Told Landlord That Items Left in Business Were Trash Now Wants to Claim

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  • 03-23-2015, 03:02 PM
    Tatsoul
    Former Tenant Told Landlord That Items Left in Business Were Trash Now Wants to Claim
    My question involves personal property located in the State of: Illinois

    Good Afternoon,

    I am the owner of a tattoo shop that has been there for years. I took over the business Feb 1st of this year. The previous owner(John) came to retrieve his property in January of 2015. One of my employees (which was also his former employee) was there when John removed his items. My employee was told, by John, to sell the items that were left behind. He also told the landlord that the next tenant can pick thru what was left or dispose of it. I have kept a few of the items and thrown away several things. I did this after Feb 1st when I took over the business. He has not tried to come get any of the other items since he left them that day in January, but now wants them. Simply put, he is upset because I did not buy the business from him and was still able to start-up on my own. Now he is threatening to come and remove these items and sue me. I want to know if he has any legal ground? Or should I just should give the items back? (I am presently using the couches and display cases for my lobby area and inventory)
  • 03-23-2015, 04:20 PM
    llworking
    Re: Former Tenant Told Landlord That Items Left in Business Were Trash Now Wants to C
    Quote:

    Quoting Tatsoul
    View Post
    My question involves personal property located in the State of: Illinois

    Good Afternoon,

    I am the owner of a tattoo shop that has been there for years. I took over the business Feb 1st of this year. The previous owner(John) came to retrieve his property in January of 2015. One of my employees (which was also his former employee) was there when John removed his items. My employee was told, by John, to sell the items that were left behind. He also told the landlord that the next tenant can pick thru what was left or dispose of it. I have kept a few of the items and thrown away several things. I did this after Feb 1st when I took over the business. He has not tried to come get any of the other items since he left them that day in January, but now wants them. Simply put, he is upset because I did not buy the business from him and was still able to start-up on my own. Now he is threatening to come and remove these items and sue me. I want to know if he has any legal ground? Or should I just should give the items back? (I am presently using the couches and display cases for my lobby area and inventory)

    No, he does not have any legal grounds to demand anything. Now, that doesn't mean that he cannot sue you and make you deal with the hassle of the lawsuit, but it means that he cannot win...and if by any chance he could win, his cause of action would be against the landlord, not against you. The landlord might have had a legal obligation to remove and store all of his items for a period of time but your deal with the landlord is separate from that.

    You had zero contractual relationship with the former tenant.
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