QUESTION
Is it legal for someone to hold your personal property if they claim you owe them money?
Asked on Jan 08th, 2020 on Landlord and Tenant Law - Oklahoma
More details to this question:
So my older brother and his girlfriend are splitting up. Her mother is the owner of the house they lived in. The mother took 2 bass guitars,one of which is one of a kind worth just over $1000, an acoustic guitar and a xbox, all worth just over $2500 together. She is saying she will return said items once he pays her $3000 that she claims he owns her. He might owe her approximately $1000 at most but there was no formal agreement when he moved in that he would pay anything. Is she within the law doing this?
1 ANSWER
It sounds like she is more or less claiming a possessory landlord's lien on the personal property. You could sue her for replevin in Small Claims Court and let the judge sort out who owes what and what to do with the personal property.
Answered on Feb 02nd, 2020 at 4:05 PM