Assault & Battery Housemates poss. claiming my belongings theirs?

[wollstonecraft]

This is my first time posting here, so I hope I've chosen the right forum.

I share a house with home owners. I've lived here for ten years, having moved in at the request of a friend of mine, to live with she and her husband. It worked out beautifully until she died five years ago.

When I moved in, I brought belongings of mine, including a few pieces of furniture, two of them family heirlooms, along with some furnishings. They're stored in the basement.

I've had problems with the house owners of a kind that I'm worried about them claiming that some of my belongings are theirs, and of them trying to stop me from taking these things with me when I can finally afford to move out (I've been underemployed for a long time and I went through a six-year medical disability). For all of the items except one, I have photographs of these things, in excellent condition (they've damaged some of my furniture), in my previous home, so I can prove they're mine. But one bookcase, built by my great-grandfather, lacks a photograph, and I can't locate one.

What legal action could they take against me if they claim this bookcase to be theirs, when I can't prove it's mine, and I try to remove it from the house? I have lost several hundred dollars worthof belongings they've helped themselves to; it looks to me like they discarded them. When I've confronted them about this, they said I was lying about it. These people are wealthy. They've got this property, they own property in Europe and at a U.S. ski resort, and two other properties in New England. They're worth several million dollars. I'm worth a couple thousand. I'm no match for them, and they've shown themselves to be over-indulged, selfish, self-centered, and vindictive if they aren't indulged and humored.

They don't charge me rent. I live in a small wing of the house, and when they're away in Europe, I tend to their property here and take care of their personal affairs. I'm hoping that in the next year or so I can get back to earning enough income to be able to move out.

I hope that's everything relevant. I'll answer questions anyone has. And I hope this wasn't too long-winded. Thanks.

 

[fredrikklaw]

As Nike says: Just do it!

In the first place, you might want to stop "confronting" the owners about the furniture if you are not planning on moving out anytime soon, because not only are you putting them on notice of your interest in the items, you are also giving them reasons to remove the furniture from your reach altogether. In fact, there really is no need to confront them at anytime about what is yours and what is theirs and just take what belongs to you when moving to your new place.

As far as what "action" they can, or can be taken against you, well, you can rest assured that it will not be of a criminal nature because of the co-habitation of the property and so there cannot be a valid claim of either theft, burglary, or some such unlawful taking of the property of others with intent to deprive.

The civil causes of action available to a plaintiff in such circumstances would be in the realms of Claim and Deliver, Replevin, and or conversion and the fact that you do not pay rent does not make an iota of a difference in the proceedings and is irrelevant.

You should also consider the retaliatory action the owners can take against you if you prod them too many times, which would be a notice to vacate the property, for which THE absolute minimum period you are going to be afforded would be sixty days and the maximum would be six months depending on how the court will interpret your tenancy.

fredrikklaw

 

[wollstonecraft]

In the first place, you might want to stop "confronting" the owners about the furniture if you are not planning on moving out anytime soon, because not only are you putting them on notice of your interest in the items, you are also giving them reasons to remove the furniture from your reach altogether. In fact, there really is no need to confront them at anytime about what is yours and what is theirs and just take what belongs to you when moving to your new place.

As far as what "action" they can, or can be taken against you, well, you can rest assured that it will not be of a criminal nature because of the co-habitation of the property and so there cannot be a valid claim of either theft, burglary, or some such unlawful taking of the property of others with intent to deprive.

The civil causes of action available to a plaintiff in such circumstances would be in the realms of Claim and Deliver, Replevin, and or conversion and the fact that you do not pay rent does not make an iota of a difference in the proceedings and is irrelevant.

You should also consider the retaliatory action the owners can take against you if you prod them too many times, which would be a notice to vacate the property, for which THE absolute minimum period you are going to be afforded would be sixty days and the maximum would be six months depending on how the court will interpret your tenancy.

fredrikklaw

Thanks, fredrikklaw. I haven't been prodding them or bringing this up to them at all. About two years ago there was a one-time clash with them because I'd been going through bullying with one family member who no longer lives there. The good thing that came out of it is that I saw these people for what they are, and I've been very, very guarded with them. I have little to say to them about my personal business. But I saw that they are self-indulgent, overindulged, and they don't like to be crossed. They can be vindictive when they are. I'm easy to get along with anyway, and I'm being careful navigating the one house owner who does still occupy the house with me. But based on what I've seen of their behavior, I worry that when I am able to move out, they'll claim some of my furniture to be theirs. There is one book case that's a family heirloom, and I don't have any evidence that it's mine, though they have no evidence that it's theirs, either. I know there would be no basis for a criminal case against me, but I worry about a civil case. I do know better than to prod and provoke them. That isn't my style anyway. Thanks for your reply, though.