Stolen tools.......

[melissa3]

Dear Soc,

My ex and I live in MA, my ex's brother-in-law live in NH.

In a previous post, I told you my ex would not relinquish my mother's ring to either my father or me. I'm considering taking her to court. My other concern is about more property I had stolen, but not by my ex directly.

Just after I moved out, my ex's brother-in-law came to our house and stole ALL of my tools. My tools (my livelihood) were kept in a locked garage.

The police report listed the damages at $3,000. Also in the police report, my ex admitted to the officer that she let her brother-in-law just take my tools. I am not sure which one to take to court about this.



Questions:

1.   When I bring my ex to court for my mother's ring, could I include my tools (damages)?

2.   If I have to bring this case to court separately from the ring, do I bring both my ex and her brother-in-law?



Thank you

[socrateaser]

>Questions:
>
>1.   When I bring my ex to court for my mother's ring, could I
>include my tools (damages)?

Yes, because by allowing someone else to take possession of the tools, your ex exercised control over your property sufficient to completely deprive you of any future use, thus she committed the tort of conversion and you are entitled to fair market value for the tools.

>2.   If I have to bring this case to court separately from the
>ring, do I bring both my ex and her brother-in-law?

When you sue someone, you generally want to sue any/everyone who could possibly be ordered to pay, because it improves your odds of collecting. Also, failure to join a potential known defendant effectively bars later suit against them, because you have already had a full and fair opportunity to litigate your claim, and thus the defendant is entitled to have you "collaterally estopped" from raising the same claim again against a different defendant.