I left my hearing aid at my yoga studio. I emailed them to ask them to hold it for me. They emailed me back saying they had it and it would ...

Question

I left my hearing aid at my yoga studio. I emailed them to ask them to hold it for me. They emailed me back saying they had it and it would be at the front desk. When I got there a few days later, the hearing aid had gone missing. They lost it.

My question is, since I have in it in writing that they said they had it and that they would hold it for me, are they liable for the lost hearing aid and can I get them to pay for it?

Thank you!

Rebecca

Answer

This is not a real estate question. However, you left it there. They offered to hold it for you as a courtesy to you, not to somehow become liable for your mistake and your personal property. That is not their business, and apparently it was not important if you waited a few days to pick it up. If they somehow became liable for your lost items, it is a safe bet they would have never offered to hold it or even told you they found it.

Answer

I am not sure why you posted this in the portion of law guru that deals with house deeds and house closings, as this is not a real estate question.

However, they have no liability to hold it for you and if it had been important to you, you would have gotten it immediately. If businesses could be held liable in this situation, they'd toss everything they found and never tell owners. They did you a favor, and sadly something happened, and that's the end of it.