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nathandumoulin

nathandumoulin

WPBL / RUNOUT MEDIA
Silver Member
I play at a local pool hall regularly.

Rather than carry all my gear around with me (case and 3 cues), I just leave it there when Im done playing. Although they have security boxes for storing equipment, the owner misplaced all the keys. Instead the staff puts my case in a special cupboard that is behind the bar that only they have access to.

A few weeks ago, my gear went missing. I paid about $1400 for it.

Does any one feel that the pool room should be held accountable for the theft? Or am I at fault for being negligent and leaving it there in the first place?
 
man thats a tough one ......
i personally would not leave my cues there at all...(but thats just me)
if you know the owner i wouldn't hurt to ask him about it ..but legally i dont know if he would be responsible......
just my 2 cents worth
scott
ps: hate to here about your loss
 
man that sucks. i will have to say this though - that one is all on you. they aren't going to pick up a dime. and here is why - you essentially left your gear behind the bar. i don't care that the bar staff told you only they go back there. if you can't lock the door yourself, and even then i wouldn't do it, you shouldn't have left it. i worked in the restaraunt business for eight years as a cook and sous chef and i can tell you your gear was never safe. everyone knew it was there and someone told someone who opened his mouth and by then it was gone. i hate to see that happen on pricey pool gear. you can talk to the owner but personally - i don't know what you look like, how big you are or what kind of rep you have, but if you're a little nasty or know someone who is, start "talking" to the bar staff you might even get your stuff back.
 
Thanks.

I do know the owner, but he's not exactly a friendly fellow.

I'm fortunate enough to be getting all new high-end gear from Mezz though (part of a sponsorship deal I have with them).

I still feel at a loss though. One of my cues was a full Predator. I loved it.
 
Yoy may have a leg to stand on. Since they had security lockers, u had an expectation of ur stuff being secure. When they move it they became liable. Check with ur towns local legal aid office in the phone book. They may be able to stear u in the right direction.
 
If you happen to have any pictures and/or a highly defined description, post it & the members here will watch for it.... Try to watch craigslist & ebay. Send a flyer to pawn shops in the area.

Sorry to hear about your loss... forgive me but I think thieves should be dealt with, in a terribly severe manner. There is no such thing as good theif.
 
poolpop63...Nope, this is incorrect. If Nathan had locked his gear in one of the 'security boxes', and it was stolen from there, the room would have liability. By leaving it "with the staff" he assumes all liability, as was noted in a previous post. By his own admission, he left his stuff there because he "didn't feel like carrying it around". It's a shame, because cue thieves should be strung up...but I bet he won't leave his cues anywhere again.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

poolpop63 said:
Yoy may have a leg to stand on. Since they had security lockers, u had an expectation of ur stuff being secure. When they move it they became liable. Check with ur towns local legal aid office in the phone book. They may be able to stear u in the right direction.
Click to expand...
 
poolpop63 said:
Yoy may have a leg to stand on. Since they had security lockers, u had an expectation of ur stuff being secure. When they move it they became liable. Check with ur towns local legal aid office in the phone book. They may be able to stear u in the right direction.
Click to expand...

No way. the locked area, which may have the presumption of 'security' was unavailable and he chose to use the unsecured location. All on him...
 
Scott Lee said:
poolpop63...Nope, this is incorrect. If Nathan had locked his gear in one of the 'security boxes', and it was stolen from there, the room would have liability. By leaving it "with the staff" he assumes all liability, as was noted in a previous post. By his own admission, he left his stuff there because he "didn't feel like carrying it around". It's a shame, because cue thieves should be strung up...but I bet he won't leave his cues anywhere again.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...


When somebody takes your equipment are they not assuming responsibility for it?? They could have and should have told him you can't leave it here because we can't be responsible for anything which isn't secured in a locker. By agreeing to take the equipment and store it in a "safe" place are they not some how responsible.
 
My cue was stolen from a pool room once. The owner replaced it.

I would guess that there is some kind of business insurance that the owner carries that would cover this. Whether the owner elects to use it or not is another story.

My feeling here is that if he agreed to keep your cues safe and your expectation was that they were kept in a locked environment then the owner ought to replace your stuff. If however you knew that the gear was not being kept in a locked environment then it's on you.
 
If the owner carries insurance, he may file a claim for the loss and make you pay the deductible...which- if he has 1/2 a brain- is likely significantly higher than the loss you state.

Of course, filing a claim is going to affect his future renewal cost...back to the 1/2 a brain thing.

He should probably just give you a couple of bucks and ask customers to maintain responsibility for their own stuff.
 
nathandumoulin said:
I play at a local pool hall regularly.

Rather than carry all my gear around with me (case and 3 cues), I just leave it there when Im done playing. Although they have security boxes for storing equipment, the owner misplaced all the keys. Instead the staff puts my case in a special cupboard that is behind the bar that only they have access to.

A few weeks ago, my gear went missing. I paid about $1400 for it.

Does any one feel that the pool room should be held accountable for the theft? Or am I at fault for being negligent and leaving it there in the first place?
Click to expand...

Ask the owner to make good. He has insurance! Your second option, Small Claims Court. They may look with favor on you, especially if you can show receipts for the lost merchandise and get one employee to back up your story. You can win this case if you're prepared.
 
I think that since the pool room accepted the equipment they did have to take some responsibility for it's safe keeping regardless of the situation of the lockers. Once they took posession of the items they are responsible. There of course is the value of the items to be considered which is somewhat depreciated by there age and condition at the time of loss.
Sorry for the mess the OP is in and hope the lesson has been learned albeit the hard way!
JMO!!!!
Dan
 
You are in a tough spot.

It is really sad to see that happen in a business. As a room owner I detest thieves, especially ones that may work for me, and there have been a few over 30 years.
But here is your problem regardless of what was expressed by other posters.
If you decide or even the room owner puts your stuff behind the bar the owner only has to take slight care of it in the eyes of the law. He put it in a drawer out of sight. I would suggest that is more than slight care.
However if you pay for that luxury, like a coat check or rental of lockers then he must take "great" care of your items. If you reach that level you can win but since you evidently paid nothing and in the law "hire" him you are lost.
And unlike when you own a car you are required to have insurance, businesses are not required to carry insurance. Considering the state of the economy there are a lot of businesses cutting it out. Liquor liability is out of this world now.
 
The leg u may have to stand on comes under the heading of " IMPLIED-in-FACT" contract. This is a contract where the agreement of the parties is indicated by their conduct. Since they lost the keys to the lockers, they put ur stuff, still in their care, in another location thus implying and affirming their agreement to keep it safe. Acceptable alternative ways of decribing an IMPLIED contract are: 1, a contract in which the performance of the parties infers agreement,... 2, the parties indicate their agreement to a contract by their actions, rather than by making a promise. So again I say to u.. check with ur local legal aid society in ur town or next biggest town unless u want to eat the $14oo. Its worth a shot. Good luck.
 
I feel compelled to respond. the owner IS responsible, and they ARE supposed to carry insurance. It's required by law; if someone gets their head cracked open by a bar cue, the establishment is liable. The owner and/or bar staff accepted responsibility for the items when they agreed to store them, paid or not. Loss of your items means THEY, the business, are responsible to replace them. Period.

Was it dumb on your part? Sure. But it doesn't make them any less liable for the loss/theft. :cool:
 
check the tape

Businesses often have cameras behind the bar and in kitchen areas.If you can pin down an oprox time the theft accoured maybe you can catch it on tape.

Sounds like you are out of luck though unless the owner offers to compensate you.
 
hfelsh...Well, good luck with that approach. A poolroom owner has no liability over something that was stolen from their joint...UNLESS it was under 'lock & key' control, by the owner of the stolen items. In the interest of customer service, they might CHOOSE to reimburse the customer, but they have no legal obligation to.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

hfelsh said:
I feel compelled to respond. the owner IS responsible, and they ARE supposed to carry insurance. It's required by law; if someone gets their head cracked open by a bar cue, the establishment is liable. The owner and/or bar staff accepted responsibility for the items when they agreed to store them, paid or not. Loss of your items means THEY, the business, are responsible to replace them. Period.
Click to expand...
 
poolpop63 said:
The leg u may have to stand on comes under the heading of " IMPLIED-in-FACT" contract. This is a contract where the agreement of the parties is indicated by their conduct. Since they lost the keys to the lockers, they put ur stuff, still in their care, in another location thus implying and affirming their agreement to keep it safe. Acceptable alternative ways of decribing an IMPLIED contract are: 1, a contract in which the performance of the parties infers agreement,... 2, the parties indicate their agreement to a contract by their actions, rather than by making a promise. So again I say to u.. check with ur local legal aid society in ur town or next biggest town unless u want to eat the $14oo. Its worth a shot. Good luck.
Click to expand...



checkout IMPLIED-IN-FACT contracts
 
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