What are my rights to full compensation if a dry cleaners lost 2 of my shirts about 10 weeks ago?
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What are my rights to full compensation if a dry cleaners lost 2 of my shirts about 10 weeks ago?
I have made numerous attempts to resolve this, so I am pretty ticked. Finally the owner is offering me around 1/2 the replacement value. And it will be credit, not cash. What options do I have? As you may have guessed, I would be more open to their offer had they not wasted so much of my time.
Asked on July 11, 2015 under Business Law, Tennessee
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
The most you could legally get is what the current value of the shirts were at the time they were lost, which--since they were not brand new--would be less than replacement value. You are only entitled to the current fair market value of destroyed property, and you cannot recover additional compensation for the other party having wasted your time by not immediately giving you what you want. And to get this, if the cleaner doesn't pay you voluntarily, you'd have to sue them, which would cost money and take still more of your time. You should probably take their offer, then find a new dry cleaner.
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