Ex friend wont give me back my property what should i do?

[fitche]

My ex friend let me work on a car in her gurage now she is complaing I didn't finish the work on her house that she wasent paying me for I have a key to her gurage but she changed the locks. Now she is refuzing to give any of it back. Its 3,000$ worth of shop equitment. Engine hoist engine stand 3 ton jack jack stands welder rims and tires full tool box. I am going to file a police report and then small claims court I have a bunch of dirt on her of what she has done wrong and have people to back it all up. What do you think I should do?

[max]

Sue her. The police will not become involved, this is a civil matter.

[dodya]

Go to the house and check the garage door WHEN SHE IS HOME. If the door is locked and you can't get access, call the police from your cell phone and tell the dispatcher that a person is preventing you from retrieving your property and you need an officer to respond to keep the peace.

Hopefully an officer will respond and will advise her to open the garage to let you get your property. (With all due respect to Quizzard, who is usually one of this section's best answerers, it is actually against the law to withhold someone's property as collateral under these conditions. So her wrongful withholding of the property elevates this out of a civil matter and the police can and should respond for the purposes of keeping the peace.)

If you do have to take her to small claims court you would be an IDIOT to bother the court with "a bunch of dirt" on her. If the property in the garage belongs to you, then THIS is all you need to prove. "Dirt" is petty crap that will irritate a future judge. And irritated judges don't do what you ask them to do.

[jerrick]

Go to the house and check the garage door WHEN SHE IS HOME. If the door is locked and you can't get access, call the police from your cell phone and tell the dispatcher that a person is preventing you from retrieving your property and you need an officer to respond to keep the peace.

Hopefully an officer will respond and will advise her to open the garage to let you get your property. (With all due respect to Quizzard, who is usually one of this section's best answerers, it is actually against the law to withhold someone's property as collateral under these conditions. So her wrongful withholding of the property elevates this out of a civil matter and the police can and should respond for the purposes of keeping the peace.)

If you do have to take her to small claims court you would be an IDIOT to bother the court with "a bunch of dirt" on her. If the property in the garage belongs to you, then THIS is all you need to prove. "Dirt" is petty crap that will irritate a future judge. And irritated judges don't do what you ask them to do.

Write a letter to your ex-friend calmly explaining the fact that you would like your shop equipment such as the engine hoist, engine stand, three ton jack, jack stands, welder rims, etc. that have been sitting in her garage for an unknown period of time. Tell her you would like to set up a meeting at her convenience whereby you can pick up your equipment. Tell her she needs to call you by a certain date or you will start the process of filing papers in small claims court for in excess of $3000. If she doesn't call you, then follow through on your plans.

Good luck.