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I left my 1300 dollar guitar at the home of 5 of my former fraternity brothers. The head of the house and the president of the fraternity has always disliked me, so much so that I left the fraternity. Many will attest to this. Anyway, I knew the guitar was there in December, I was there and I played it as did others. At this point, it had been there for approximately 8 months (while I was home from school over break and the fall semester.) Upon leaving my fraternity, strangely, my guitar went missing. I was promised they'd "look for it and get back to me." No one did. Every time I asked the members of the house about it, I always got the same answer "We'll keep an eye out" with no clear indication of any action. You "keep an eye out" for a pair of flip-flops, not a 1300 dollar guitar. This is the only thing that has ever been "stolen" from the house, aside from wallets at parties, and conveniently, it was something that belonged to me. Even during these parties, there's always someone at the door checking I.D.'s and collecting money for cups, so the idea that A) they could have gotten out with it and B) a thief would choose a guitar over things like laptops, an xbox, tvs, etc, is just ridiculous. Not to mention that between the time the guitar went missing and when I asked for it to be returned they hadn't even HAD a party. I have facebook conversations with one of the house members to prove this. I believe that in spite, drunken stupor, whatever, that the head of the house or one of his roommates sold/broke the guitar and is refusing to admit it. He has motive, no logical defense and I'm out 1300. Can I hold them accountable for the guitar and get financial compensation?
Optional Information: State/Country relating to Question: Florida Already Tried: Just asking for it back. I'd rather just have the guitar back, but this can't go ignored.
Thank you for the opportunity to answer your question.If you can show that the head of the fraternity took/broke the guitar, you could file a lawsuit against him to recover the value of your damages. However, it sounds like that could be difficult to prove, given the details of the situation. That said, there may be another option. The fraternity itself may be liable for the guitar. If it can be shown that the fraternity itself failed to provide adequate security to protect your guitar, that could provide a basis to file a lawsuit against the fraternity as an organization. Further, if it can be shown that the members of the organization must have disposed of your guitar, the organization itself could be liable. Your next step is to immediately take the matter to your attorney, as your attorney can draft a letter asserting your rights and demanding compensation and, if the organization fails to pay you for the guitar, your attorney can help you evaluate the evidence to determine whether you might be able to build a sufficiently strong case to recover.Please use Reply to let me know if further clarification is needed, and please keep in mind that the I am not credited for unaccepted answers. Even if this was not what you were hoping to hear, it is a truthful answer and I hope that you now feel confident in your knowledge of the law. Please remember to click accept once you are finished. Thank you.
Experience: Attorney
My question is really this. It could not have gotten taken during a party, there were no parties from when I saw it last to when it went missing. It literally had to have been one of them who either destroyed it in spite or sold it. This is private residence, not a fraternity house. Because they cannot tell me what happened to the guitar, is that enough to hold them accountable for my loss?
The situation you just described is tougher than one in a fraternity house, as there may be no particular individual has a duty to keep the entire premises secure. Therefore, you'd need to know who took your item and you'd need to sue that person. The problem is one of evidence. You may know what happened in your heart, but you're going to have to show the court that if you sue. The problem is easier to understand when you put yourself in another roommate's shoes. Let's say you lived with four people. Roommate5 moves out. Roommate1 steals something from Roommate5. Roommate5 would not have recourse against you simply because you lived in the building at the time. Instead, Roommate5 would need to show that you participated in some fashion. Now, in a fraternity house, it may be different, as the fraternity itself could have a duty to all of the roommates and it could potentially be liable for a loss if it is in some way negligent and that negligence causes the loss.Accordingly, you'd need to be able to show that the person you're suing was involved in some way - not just living there at the time.Please use Reply to let me know if further clarification is needed, and please keep in mind that the I am not credited for unaccepted answers. Even if this was not what you were hoping to hear, it is a truthful answer and I hope that you now feel confident in your knowledge of the law. Please remember to click accept once you are finished. Thank you.40996.0004192477