Is it my legal responsibility to hold onto property left with me from a company I was hired by after many attempts to return the items to them?
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Is it my legal responsibility to hold onto property left with me from a company I was hired by after many attempts to return the items to them?
I work as a freelance film editor. The company that hired me out gave me several hard drives to use for the editing process. They’re based in another state but they had a representative down here at the time of the job to give the hard drives to me. He is no longer here, and I’ve made many attempts by phone, e-mail, text, to return the items (they’re worth a few hundred dollars) since my final invoice 3.5 months ago with no response. I’d like to get rid of it or sell it. Can I legally do this? Am I forced to take care of their stuff indefinitely?
Asked on June 25, 2012 under Business Law, California
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Despite your attempts to return property that is not yours from a company that you worked for but has not accepted the offers for a return, the best way to rid yourself of the items is to box them and ship them to the company's address cash on delivery.
The items are not yours to keep. You have just returned them by the above suggested method. You are rid of them.
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