I have an unique situation. The day we moved our belongings into a downstairs apt. the landlord & his helper were finishing up some renovations in the apt. The 'helper' was hired directly out of prison for robbery, burglary and drug trafficking. The landlord had given this 'helper' the only key to the outer basement door, which leads directly into our apt. & also left the front door open when they finished their work inside for the day. Between 10PM & 8AM that night, we were burglarized. The burglar went directly to the boxes containing our jewelry and also stole our 42" plasma TV. We filed a report with the police and a few weeks later, the helper's girlfriend told us it was her boyfriend, the landlord's helper (who also had moved in upstairs) that stole our belongings. This too, was reported to the police. The police agree that they believe the burglar was this 'helper' and also the landlord! We just can't prove it. Other details show this to be true, but we still need to prove it.
Our question (finally) to you is: Can we sue the landlord for negligence or?? For
1) providing a known felon access to our apartment and 2) leaving the front door open the night of the burglary?
He also has not returned our security deposit and it has been over 30 days, so we already know we are going to sue him for double.
Any information and advice is greatly appreciated.

When did this happen? If you are expecting the return of your security then are you now at the end of the lease and this happened at the beginning?

Were you aware the helper had a key? When did you become aware of the helper's record?

Did the police search his premises for the stolen articles? Were any ever recovered? Were you covered by renter's insurance?

Our move out date was 11-9-09. The burglary happened
5-4-09, the day before we actually SLEPT there the first time.

We became aware the 'helper' had the key to the basement in early June. At that time, I alerted the detective working the burglary case. The reason the landlord gave us about the felon having the key to the basement was so that he could get to the lawn mower. Once we learned this, we put up a latch on our side of that door.

Since he did not yet live in the upstairs unit at the time of the burglary, he did not have the key at that point. However, since he was present earlier that day (5-4-09), he could have unlocked the window or he had left the front door unlocked/open in order to facilitate re-entry that night.

We learned of the helper's record July-August 09 when his girlfriend came downstairs after one of their violent fights and she told us everything he has done. All of this information regarding his record was confirmed by the detective.

The detective did search the helpers father's house & garage and 2-3 of his friend's houses (without search warrants, he just asked them for permission). Nothing was found at any of those locations. We believe he stored our TV in Erie, PA at one of his other relative's homes until he sold or traded it for another 42" TV. The night before we moved out of the apt., we could see that he had a 42" flat screen TV through his window. I called the detective and he came out with the felon's parole officer (in order to gain access inside) and they found the TV was a different brand than ours. However, the felon said he bought it new, but could not produce a receipt and it was clear to the detective that the TV was not new. So, the police are still convinced of the felon's guilt/participation in our burglary. We simply need proof, but it is still eluding us.

This situation is a horrible web of rumors and facts. The girlfriend's parents are also involved. The felon was actually living with her & her parents at the time of the burglary and her father also works with the landlord & the felon.

After the girlfriend told us it was him and likely a particular friend of his, she and her mother went to the police and gave their statements. After that, the detective visited the felon's father's house and 2-3 of the felon's friends house's. Nothing was recovered, but his father told the police he doesn't doubt his son's involvement. Of course, his father didn't tell the police that our TV was in his bedroom for 2-3 weeks after the burglary. (There are many things like this that came out, but all are rumor's & can't be used to arrest him).

Yes, we did have renter's insurance and we collected $1,700 for the items lost. However, the value of the jewelry taken was close to $7,000, but the insurance limit for jewelry was $1,000. The original officer that took our report was told by other inmates & new arrests that they knew the felon and also knew he was responsible and he sold our jewelry to individuals in Erie. Again, burden of proof lies with us.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Can you advise whether you believe we have a valid case against the landlord for liability/negligence etc... for leaving the door open and supplying the known felon access to our apt. We are pretty clear that we can sue him for double our deposit. Also, would it be a real estate attorney that we would need?

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Originally Posted by halfbaked

Thank you for your assistance in this matter. Can you advise whether you believe we have a valid case against the landlord for liability/negligence etc...for leaving the door open and supplying the known felon access to our apt.? We are pretty clear that we can sue him for double our deposit. Also, would it be a real estate attorney that we would need?

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Hello half:

I'd give you 10 to 1 on winning the deposit issue. And, it's a toss up on the negligence issue... But, sue for it anyway. Small claims court is quick, cheap and easy. Most of 'em don't allow attorney's in anyway.

excon

There is nothing illegal about hiring a ex con to work, and while giving him trust may in hind sight poor judgement but not sure that is legal proof of fault.

The rules of evidence is a lot less in civil court than criminal court. So if you can get the girlfriend to testify in court, that should be enough to pull it your way

Thank you Fr_Chuck, I hadn't even thought of having the girlfriend testify! I agree with you as well, that it isn't illegal to hire an ex con. However, it sure does seem to me that providing entry into another's living quarters to an ex con should qualify as negligence. I might be swayed to the other side a bit IF the landlord did not know the entire history of the ex con and that he was hiring him directly out of prison for robbery & burglary! Responsible landlords wouldn't hand the key over like that. But, I know that the law doesn't have to agree with my opinions!
Thank you for your response! It was a big help!