Last Resort to Save my Machine & Tool Collection

Last Resort to Save my Machine & Tool Collection [Edited]

I thought this would be the appropriate thread since the bulk of my machinery and tooling is antique & irreplaceable. But if not mods can delete it. But the purpose of this thread is to ask for help.

Detailed Story [Re-written for additional detail & explanation of events]

Intro to story, I was renting a house & my last paid month was February. I was not to renew the lease with the former landlord due to the house being sold. I was aware of that and expected to be out of the house by the end of February.

Now for the timeline of events.

01-14-19- The house was sold at a Sheriff's Sale.

02-05-19- Received a handwritten note on the door. The note read "Just wanted to let you know we bought this house for my daughter and grandson to live in. But if you would like to rent it until spring maybe we could work something out. Thanks [Contact number]

02-06-19- The husband and the grandson showed up while I was home, I went out and talked with them. They explained that they were the ones who purchased the house and we discussed possibly renting from a month to month basis to make it easier for me to move all of my belongings. Specifically my machinery. They seemed polite and honest and the conversation stayed friendly. I went on to explain some issues that I was going to bring up to the previous landlord and allowed them to walk around the property. After I went inside and they stayed around for a while looking at the house.
Before the left we made arrangements to meet on the 19th to discuss the terms of renting.

02-08-19- After getting home from work I had a "Notice to Leave Premises" posted on my door. This is when I began searching for an attorney. Especially since they still did not have official ownership of the property yet.

02-19-19- I texted the number (Which turns out to be the wife's phone) explaining I wasnt going to be able to meet up later that evening due to MOT at work. The response said they wanted to meet Saturday.

02-21-19- I received a summons for trial for a "writ of restitution" on March 7th at the municipal court served at my door. This also claimed "damages" of $5,000.

02-22-19- This was when the land was officially transferred to them.

They texted me saying they would be over the next day to measure carpets. I explained that I wasnt comfortable having them in my house on short notice on top of having everything out as I try to pack it up. At this time I was reconsidering renting to them since they already filed legal action. I suggested meeting somewhere other than the house to discuss the rent.

Their response was threatening to break into the house and shoot my dog while I was at work. I was actually having a consultation with an attorney at the time the sent this text, he told me to immediately go to the sheriffs office and file a report. I did so. (It also turned out this attorney couldnt help me due to being in a different county)

In retaliation to me not allowing them in they told me that they were increasing their "damages" claim to $10,000. They are also adding my girlfriend, Leah, to the case. Leah never met them or introduced herself nor was she on the former lease so I am assuming they got her name by going through the mail while I was at work.

At this time I decided not to rent to them. Though I lost a lot of time not packing I planned on explaining that during the trial on the 7th to get some extra time to move out.

03-07-19- During the trial they threw out the "writ of restitution" because they ended up getting a " writ of possession" at the common pleas court, and the sheriff was showing up at my house the next day to change the locks.

03-08-19- While I was at work the sheriff showed up and changed the locks. I no longer had access to my house.

I also contacted the new owners this day requesting to get my belongings. They told me that I was able to show up at 10am on the following Wednesday (three days away from this time) and they will give me two (2) hours to get my things. I explained there was no way I would be able to get everything from the house in that time but they ignored it.

03-09-19- I asked that we reschedule the moving until the weekend and I get more time to move everything. They denied it telling me they were busy.

03-12-19- Attempted to get more time collecting my things, couldnt hire a moving crew due to short notice (rural area). They again said no.

03-13-19- Showed up with as much help as I could get and tried to get as much as I could. I assumed they didnt give me any more time because there were places they had to be and they didnt want me in the house without them there. So a majority of the time we were trying to move everything to the driveway so when they left we could load it up. We explained that was what they were doing and they said okay. Then once 12 came around they told us to get off the property and they called the sheriff. We werent allowed to remove our things from the driveway.

03-15-19- Offered to pay for movers to show up and get everything else out of the house. They ignored me.

03-17-19- Received call from ex neighbor telling me they were loading my things into trucks. I contacted them again asking what was going on. They said they were moving things and I told them they were still my items.

They told me to stop contacting them and they were calling the sheriff for "harassment"

The report said nothing regarding harassment, they claimed I threatened to trespass and break in to the house.
(Keep in mind our whole conversation was over text message, and I never made any threats and was as professional as possible)

03-20-19- I sent a letter the the magistrate requesting my belongings be returned. Trial held May 22nd.

05-22-19- The couple claimed I didnt leave the house until April. Also said that I broke into the house and that was the reason they made the police report (There is no mention of any actual break in on the police report.) Then tried to claim money so they can hire movers and claimed other "damages". They actually received a reward of three months rent because since my belongings were in there I was considered to have residency there.

Current Situation

The only thing I am able to do now would be to take it to the court of common pleas and file a replevin. I know in Ohio no matter what the situation the belongings are still mine unless there is proof that I intended to abandon them. But on multiple occasions I tried to get my belongings back. Ringler v. Sias, 428 NE. 2d 869 (Ohio Ct. App. 1980) The two hours arent consistent with the law either. [Abbe Family Found. & Trust v. Portage City Sheriff, 2006-Ohio-2497.]

I do not want the house or the ability to rent back, I am only focused on getting my things which were said to still be on the property as of this month.

At this time being between jobs and recovering from literally being locked out of my house, I am not in any situation the be able to afford the retainer for an attorney ($2000 in this area). So I am here asking for any assistance with getting legal representation.

I will be sure to keep track of all help and if I am able to get awarded for damages I will return anything given to me.

Hopefully this edit is a bit more clear with the timeline of things, any comments, advice, or donations will be appreciated. If enough support is rallied I will add my paypal info. But for the time being even advice would be worth the post.

Thank you,

Are there no tenants rights in Ohio?

had you not paid rent to someone?

Most places they are required to put your stuff in storage


You have a lease that provides for a 3 day notice to quit?

there is something missing here

They sound like horrible people

Thats the issue, they clearly violated many laws and they made it obvious they dont have any legal council guiding them. They are just doing whatever they think they are entitled to do. Thats thats why I need to get an attorney to make things right, which is that much harder since it comes down to county municipalities.

They are terrible people, the things the wife said and called me over text are everything but mature.

I think their goal is to make as much money off of the purchase as possible. And dont think I was fight back.

[EDIT]
To put their behavior into perspective:

I texted them offering to pay for a moving crew to completely clean out the house and take everything after I was locked out and they told me they "werent moving anything" and "they arent my personal storage unit".

Then they took me to municipal court claiming money and one of their claims was paying for movers to get my things out.

No logical thinking would make them do that other than just being vindictive.

There is more to this story I think....at least you are going to have to make a better case before I would be willing to donate...and I *might* be willing depending.

We are quite a few months past February, are you sure they still have the machines? I'm not trying to be nasty, but it seems you should have hired an atty when this issue first started.

iwananew10K said:

There is more to this story I think....at least you are going to have to make a better case before I would be willing to donate...and I *might* be willing depending.

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Understandable, Once I get to my desktop I will edit and make it more of a detailed timeline of events and explain in more detail.

Maybe some pics of your "collection" as it set on the property.

Usually, verbal agreements mean nothing in court (hearsay) (he said, she said) etc.

Most states, and I am not familiar with Ohio, have regulations regarding "lease terminations" and how much notice a landlord must give (in writing). Did your landlord, the previous owner, give you "notice", and did you do anything about it? On another note, did the purchasers of the property buy it "as is"? Seems odd that they would charge you with "damages".

Definitely more to this story. PB

I don't want to add misery, but if you don't have a signed/notarized rental/lease agreement with the previous owner then that's a gigantic problem. You need to scan and post the lease here so we can read it and see what your rights might be.

I would check every scrap yard, Craigslist, offer-up, Facebook that could be used to sell your equipment. If you have serial numbers, pictures and accurate descriptions i would file a report that it was stolen if police will take a report. Kinda sounds like they have an inside track of some sort.

As I wrote in previous posts on your other thread, it sounds like you have the makings of a lawsuit against the new owners of the house.

The trick is to find an attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant law, and see if they will take the case on a contingency (i.e.- they get about 33% of any award made to you, should the court find in your favor). This gets you off the hook for paying a retainer.

As the most basic rule of law states: "the burden of proof is on the plaintiff" which is you. Establishing a chain of admissable evidence showing what the new owners did is what you need to do.

From what little I found out about Ohio's landlord-tenant laws, the landlord can give serve you with a 3 day notice to vacate when a lease is up, or a month to month rental agreement is up (end of a month), or in cases where the tenant has broken some terms of a rental agreement, damaged the property, had unauthorized persons move in, etc. Once the tenant gets the 3 day notice to vacate, that is as far as the landlord can go by himself. Should the tenant fail to vacate, the landlord then has to go to a judge and make out grounds for an eviction proceeding against the tenant. Once this is done, the judge signs an eviction notice, and the landlord is out of the picture. An officer of the court or law enforcement officer is the only one who can serve the eviction notice on the tenant. Once service is made, in most states, the tenant has 30 days to vacate, and in some states, it is 90 days. The courts seem to lean on the side of the tenant (or even squatters) and grant extensions rather easily.

Now we come down to the matter of who owned the house when you initially rented it. That landlord defaulted on a mortgage and the lender foreclosed. Once the foreclosure was completed, the lender was the new landlord. Any pre-existing lease agreements or rental agreements between you and the original landlord are null and void. The mortgage lender would have to notify you that they took back the mortgage, and you would be asked to enter into some sort of rental agreement with the lender for the interim. Once the property was sold to the new owners at foreclosure sale, they would have to draft a new rental agreement or lease agreement between you and them. Not sure about verbal contracts, which I suspect is what the new owners conveniently did. Nothing in writing that could be used against them if you started an action against them.

If they claim damage to the property, and want to make out a case against you, they have to produce evidence. I suspect that what the new owners may be doing is getting a contractor into the premises to renovate or alter. Any chance you have of showing the property was in good condition when you vacated it is obliterated by the renovation or alteration work. On the other hand, it blows the new owner's case against you for "damaging the property" out of the water as they will not be able to meet their burden of proof.

This brings it around to your machinery. You need to prove ownership, what you had, and get some kind of valuation on it by an independent appraiser. Once this is done, it can be used to beat on the new owners. At this point, they may well claim the machinery never existed, or is less than what you make out you had- since they have taken it off premises and disposed of it. This is where a lawsuit seems like the remedy. An attorney will write a "demand letter" telling the new owners they have something like "ten (10) business days from receipt of this letter to produce the machine tools, tools, and shop assets of the plaintiff. If the machine tools, tools, shop assets of the plaintiff are not produced within ten (10) business days, a lawsuit to recover the goods, or equivalent value (and associated expenses such as moving the machinery, damage repairs or replacement costs) will be brought against you."

Assume the new owner blows this off, the attorney moves forward with a lawsuit. Most states have something like a $5000.00 limit to lawsuits which can be handled in small claims court. Realistically, the old machine tools are special to us, but not to people in the actual manufacturing community. Getting an appraisal that reflects value to a collector that will hold up in court is going to be interesting. Possibly, Hendeyman might come through with an appraisal of the one-off Hendey lathe you had. As current owner of the Hendey name and supporting the Hendey machine tools, he might carry some weight in court. The trick here is to build a solid foundation establishing your ownership of the machine tools along with an inventory, followed by appraisals to establish valuation. The bigger trick is to get the valuation for more than the limits for lawsuits in small claims court. If you can prove you used the machine tools for your livelihood, even on a part time basis (invoices, statements, tax returns), you have another cause of action for depriving you of your livelihood or ruining your business. The whole thing has to be rolled into a lawsuit with enough potential damages to make it worth an attorney's while to take the case on a contingency.

The stolen property angle sounds worth pursuing- assuming you can prove ownership and have photos, serial numbers and any other positive identification which establishes your ownership. However, when the local police hear the matter is entangled in a landlord-tenant beef, they may throw up their hands and not take it on.

I do not think these people have any inside track. They are simply connivers who know how to work the system, and are going on what amounts to a street fighter's approach- throw the first punches, knock you off balance and keep on hammering.

Waste no time in finding an attorney who specializes in tenant-rights type cases, and ask if they will take the case on contingency, as a lawsuit against the new owners. A notice of a sizeable lawsuit against them may wake them up. Unfortunately, your machine tools may be history at this point. They may have had some gus who clear out buildings and sell the "finds" come get the machine tools, and it is anyone's guess where the machine tools went. I kind of doubt they went right to the scrappers, as it took some effort to move the machine tools. A consignment seller, estate liquidator, used tool dealer (who often deal with hobby type machine shops), or similar would be the likely people to have gotten your tools. If you can make out a case for the new owners having wrongfully taken your tools, then technically, the people in current possession- whomever they may be- are in possession of stolen property. An attorney making noise about a lawsuit is what you need to sic on the new owners, and FAST ! Realistically, all you can hope for is a cash settlement as the tools may have turned hands a time or two.

The way I read this 2/8 was your hint that things would not go as you would like and as of 2/22 you were out of time and luck.

we're I you and I'm not, I would try appealing to the new owners conscience, and if they allow you to get your stuff maybe go above and beyond to help them too.....courts are last ditch IMO.

Give it one last shot before going all in with the courts....I have always found that if you make it easy people are usually willing to do the right thing....lawyers excluded, they make it easy for poeple to do the wrong thing.

File a stolen property report with the Sheriff. They won't do anything but it gets it on record. You will need an inventory with as much information and pictures as you can gather. As for an attorney good luck. I am in a similar situation where the owner locked the shop of someone who rented some of my equipment. I filed a stolen property report with the Sheriff (not the police). I know where the equipment is but can not prove it is in the shop so the Sheriff can't force the owner to open the doors. But he is on record as is the equipment. Rather than just open the door and let me get the equipment the owner of the shop is working with his ego and has kept it locked for nearly a year. That's $36,000 of lost rental income for $1000 worth of equipment. Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and move on. Depending on the cost of your equipment a lawyer and fighting these scumbags will be an expensive Pyrrhic victory that will cost more than a shop full of new equipment.

Joe Michaels said:

The trick is to find an attorney who specializes in landlord-tenant law, and see if they will take the case on a contingency (i.e.- they get about 33% of any award made to you, should the court find in your favor). This gets you off the hook for paying a retainer.

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DO NOT USE AN ATTORNEY WHO DOES NOT SPECIALISE IN LANDLORD-TENANT LAW.

If you use an attorney who doesn't specialise in this type of law your making a big mistake. I've seen simple mistakes made by very experienced attorneys that have have screwed up cases in landlord-tenant disputes. It's not complicated law, but it's very easy for an inexperienced attorney to make a procedural error if not carefull. At your expense.

Go to the local courthouse. In California courthoses there's usually an office that deals solely with landlord/tenant disputes, there may be a similar office in your counties courthouse.

in this state if what you say is actually true you would have lawyers lining up to sue them. but you should have got out when it sold at a foreclosure sale. count it as a expensive lesson, last time I was involved with getting a person out of a foreclosure house against their will, it was 6 months, but if the sheriff has all ready moved you out your done. unless hud housing or indigent/public law services will get involved. but that is going to require work on your part if you dont have a job this should be your full time job. if the lawyers want a retainer to help you that means there is not a good chance your going to win at least in oregon or idaho your state may differ.

Here's how I interpret your story:

1 - The original owner of the house lost it somehow so it went to a sheriffs sale.

2 - 20 days later, the new owners left a relatively nice note on the door letting you know they're the new owners.

3 - The new owners got increasingly hostile trying to get you to leave.

03-07-19- During the trial they threw out the "writ of restitution" because they ended up getting a " writ of possession" at the common pleas court, and the sheriff was showing up at my house the next day to change the locks.

Click to expand...

4 - Two months later, the courts sided with them. You don't seem to have made any effort to move out yet.

5 - You keep stretching out the leaving time seemingly making no effort to get your stuff out. Finally, they broke into their own house and moved your stuff out somewhere.

6 - You can't find your stuff.

05-22-19- The couple claimed I didnt leave the house until April. Also said that I broke into the house and that was the reason they made the police report (There is no mention of any actual break in on the police report.) Then tried to claim money so they can hire movers and claimed other "damages". They actually received a reward of three months rent because since my belongings were in there I was considered to have residency there.

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7 - They got 3 months rent from you. Apparently, they had to foot the bill to get movers to move your stuff out.

I feel sorry for you but it's just not clear to me who the bad guy is here. They got the court to side with them several times. I ignored the "he says/ she says" stuff. None of that matters unless it's on paper.

If the value of your tools is less than the max allowed for small claims court, you can file a claim in small claims court yourself, and in fact attorneys are not allowed in small claims court. Small claims court is very friendly to non-attorneys and generally they have resources available to help you with filing your claim. The process in court is informal, and you state your position, the other side states their position and the judge then decides, typically maybe an hour in court and you get your court decision on the spot or a few days later. Filing in small claims court is very inexpensive. You do want to very carefully prepare your presentation with solid documentation of all of your tools and proof of their value, and you'll need to prepare your presentation so you are organized and persuasive in court.

If the value exceeds the small claims court limit by a LOT (e.g. you have $50K or $100K of value there), then you'll need to hire an attorney and go to district court. You are looking at typically a minimum of $20K of legal expenses if you end up litigating. That being said, most cases don't go to trial, and an attorney in most cases can pursuade the other side to settle, and in this case it seems likely could negotiate a way to get your tools back.

I fixed up a 1920's dump to move my family into, built a 36x120 building and moved 100 tons of machines and equipment from March 1st to May 4th. As soon as I cut the control joints the morning after I was setting machines on the slab.

I had a shitty/greedy landlord situation too, but I never felt the need to ask for donations.

hind sight. you should have gone to court with any lawyer, I live on the edge of this world, evictions are magically not as harsh when someone walks in with any lawyer (we are talking peanuts in rent world, so even if land-tenant lawyer is best, any lawyer is magic in the moment). You are renter, which is the lowest form of life in the social structure of the system - a renter in a corner is just more fun and easier to add charges on. Your situation just sucks, and sadly will take serious effort to get your ish back - which I suspect will not happen. Your stuff was never there depending on scrap value. These folks are not storing your stuff in climate controlled cubical, these folks went to the effort to have it removed off property - not to the curb. They are not amateurs at the game.
Your one shot I think is whatever your local bar association does on outreach. Most have something of the sort, sometimes your library has similar. They will help at least get eviction gone - which is costly for years. If the stuff does still exist you might have a chance. The free lawyers are better from what I have seen, because they are motivated by the love of the game and break from normal pace.
luck, you need it,
keep your head above water, eventually the current will get you closer to shore.

I'm not even sure he is a renter. It sold at a Sheriff's sale. That is state law area, but often that convey's immediate possession, and there are few to no allowable legacy contracts or obligations from the previous owner to the purchaser.

Just some quick pointers, I appreciate all of the advice.
I do agree that in hindsight I should have been more careful but I thought their intentions were good when they offered to rent the house to me. The husband and his son were genuinely kind and understanding people. I believe the wife is the source of most of the deception. The husband even helped us in moving during the two hours we were given.

I also want to note that none of the "he said she said" is hearsay as it is all in text. I made sure to read and reference the text log for accuracy when making the original post. I also saved all of the handwritten letters, court forms, police reports and everything else that had to do with this situation to make sure I have a timeline of events.

As far as whether or not I am a renter I was on the fence too. But since the awarded them rent from me during the municipal court trial I feel as if that should give them the duties and responsibilities as landlords since they have accepted rent from me.

I am not saying that none of my actions could have been better or that I handled the situation perfectly. I could have been a lot more cautious and continued to remove everything even with the intent to rent from them. But I have also tried to remedy this by offering to pay to move everything out, so everyone would win in this situation. I would get my things and they would get a free clean out. I cannot see any reason they would not want this other than spite.

I would say roughly 15-20,000 in machinery. Not an incredible amount but it was my pride and joy. After putting hundreds of hours into cleaning and rebuilding the machines no one would want to see that go to waste.