Ex partner in small claims action

FBaby

Why is she desperate to keep it? Surely she wants to get rid of all reminders of him especially intimate ones?

ilnf

Give the bed back or offer pay half of its market value, not retail value. I'd agree with others, going through a court isn't something I'd particularly want to do*

*sorry for putting my personal opinion, OP please don't take offence.

fluffnutter

Give him the bed back if it means so much to him and walk away with dignity intact. Two ex-lovers arguing over an emissions-stained bed in court? Classy.

Kayalana99

I think she needs to decide whether she would rather give the bed back or pay £1000 for it + court costs.

Your only arguement is that it was a gift and 'is in her house' but when your buying a bed for a property you are living in and using it would be VERY hard to say it was a gift and not just brought for both of them.

At most they would rule she owns 50% as it was brought as a couple (sorry I missed this if it had been mentioned but) but if they have been together less then 5 years and he brought it court would most likey rule that its his, and if more then 5 years they will say she has to pay £1000 if she wants to keep it.

Whether he paid rent and bills does not matter, the only other thing you could counter with is if he took anything that was 50/50 thiers that was of vaule.

Good luck.

zzzLazyDaisy

Fire_Fox wrote: »

If anyone can tell you what the legal position is it would be a solicitor not unqualified inexperienced people on MSE, lovely as they are..

Even a solicitor would not be able to forecast the outcome of this case with any degree of certainty (at least not without a lot more information). Without documentary evidence of the intentions of the parties at the time the bed was purchased, it will all hang on which person's evidence is believed on the day.

On the information we have, my money would be on the judge accepting that the bed was intended to be a gift. Why? Because the bf did not live there, he just visited, so he would have no reason to have his own furniture there. A toothbrush and a few CD's maybe, but not large items of furniture. It would be different if he had moved in with her and they shared the home and furniture and then had to decide ownership when they split, but this isn't the case here.

Although, I have to say, I don't think I'd be able to sleep in a bed with such bad history, I'd give him a date and time and tell him to collect it.

fluffnutter

They DNA the beds that come to small claims court. Whomever the biggest proportion of the stains belongs to gets to keep it. Fact.

kittiej

Not sure I'd be wanting a court judgement due to a disagreement over a bed

If my DH gave me a bed as a gift I would find it very unusual, but then there's no accounting for people and what they exchange as gifts.

Why should he still pay for something he has no use of? Would she prefer that he asked for 50% use instead? It's a bit out of the 'box of chocolates' league but I suppose it would also depend on what other items he ever bought her as 'gifts'? If it was usual for him to gift her large items of furniture then she might be able to pull it off, though I wouldn't put money on it.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

fluffnutter wrote: »

They DNA the beds that come to small claims court. Whomever the biggest proportion of the stains belongs to gets to keep it. Fact.

Lets hope she's a squir.....nope can't say it.

Bleurgh.

princeofpounds

Personally, I'm pretty sure the judge would rule in his favour or 50/50.

He still has title to the bed, he made all the payments on the bed, it is his bed in all legal respects, that much is supported by the evidence.

The question is then whether it was a gift. The only evidence for this is its physical positioning, which actually means much less to me given that he stayed over so frequently (it could have been put there for his use). Even if it was a gift of a sort, it would be far more likely to be a shared asset than an outright handing-over of his property. But the evidence is pretty skimpy.

On the balance of probabilities therefore, she may well lose, and because she has rejected a perfectly reasonable 50/50 offer could be in danger of losing costs as well.

But that's just a personal opinion.

And I don't think you should be so touchy either about people's comments. This isn't a question-answering service, it's a forum, and people will make ethical judgements as well as answer the question. Unless there was a clear statement that this bed was a gift, it should be returned to the legal owner and the person who paid for it.

LannieDuck

I would expect the judge to find in his favour (although, unlike LazyDaisy, I'm not a solicitor... so you should believe her post rather than mine :P).

If I take some large items into a relationship, I would expect to take them back at the end of the relationship. Your relative didn't 'gift' the TV or cooker to her ex... and he didn't 'gift' the bed to her. They're both taking away what they took into it.

At the very least your relative should offer to take over payments on the bed. There's no way he should continue to have to pay it off when he has no use of it. Personally, I think he should get it back entirely, however his offer of a 50:50 payment split is a good compromise.