some legal issues in scrapping

I have a situation my scrap company I own got me into and need some guidance. I dont have big money to pay for a lawyer so I am trying to do as much work as i can myself with the help of others.



my manager that runs the place has been buying material from a guy recently that ended up being stolen metals that was new. I told the lawyer of the company that the guy signed the form stating he was the legal owner of the material so I have proof that we thought it was his. unfortunately, he was bringing us a lot of material.. like when he came by it would double my purchases for that day. so they are kinda making it seem like since it happened over and over i should of known.

anyone got any tips for me to make this go away?


thanks

Larry

thanks brasscatcher.

when the guy first came he told us he was scrapping it for the company he worked for, that they were cleaning out their warehouse. but he continued to bring us the big pounds of copper which we assumed they just continously had left overs. Their lawyer said I am screwed because my scrapyard paid the guy cash and never got anything from the company. im just hoping i can find some regualtions or laws that help protect me from this or if worse are there laws that show where i am screwed and i should just settle.. you know what i mean?

scrap yard here asks for a letter from company

thats what they said i should of done. but my manager just got the guys information and he said he was the president of the company, which now im learning he isnt.

i have the license plate of the truck and photos of him and his material. but the truck wasnt marked, it was just a typical truck.

i wish i could get a lawyer but i cant afford one so as of now im stuck researching and figuring it out myself.

id rather get a loan and pay for a lawyer atm then have to pay way more later. when you get past this make sure to go through your rules and procedures to make sure u better protect yourself.

the workers at my scrap yard take care to ask for letters and other stuff if stories sound fishy or if items are questionable. they dont want to get in trouble with boss.

they told me about a guy who worked for uniforms cleaner that was keeping all the broken brass zippers etc from work and brought in a big load. guy got in trouble for the stolen load because he didnt ask his superiors first if he could keep it.

one thing that may help is if you create new policy to prevent this from happening again. The judge might have a little mercy on you if he sees you are trying to correct the problem. It by no means will solve the problem, but it might add a few points to something else.

Also, any of this material that has not been shipped out should be set aside. it would definitely be worth paying your crew to salvage as much as you can.

AGAIN, YOU NEED A LAyWER. THIS IS BAD.

If you are lucky, you can settle out of court without police involvement.

Also, I would consult a laywer before taking action against the manager.

You really can't afford not to get a lawyer. Shop around most will work with you according to your financial situation. Good luck. I hate a thief. We all can learn something here from your unfortunate circumstances. Again good luck.

That's guys I will look into a loan, the lawyers i have talk have high retainers.. It's crazy. Plus their hourly rates 300-400 an hour

So from what y'all know there isn't any law that would protect me? What law/regulation can they use to make me accountable? I feel like we did our job, we bought material the guy claimed was good for him to sell. Sure it was nicely reeled up but he gave a good story each time and I don't even run the place, I just own it, so why am I liable? I just don't see why I can't tell them to shove it and that I did nothing wrong.

Originally Posted by redscrap

I just don't see why I can't tell them to shove it

that might work

Man..talk about a learning experience. i ever open a yard this post is going on my wall as a reminder. Heh.

Good luck to ya buddy, as the others said..find a lawyer, implement new polices now, not after court. May or may not help but worth a shot. You'll have to do it either way, best to do it now, then have the court order you to. Will look tons better in the eyes of the judge if you go in with a plan of action, etc etc.

Sirscrapalot - Off to have a beer or two for you.

Well its a proublem,but it happened to me,the material was picked up and given back to the company If you still have the material I think the worst that can happen is you lose your purchase moneys,Thats what happened to me I still havent heard anything more this happened nine mounths ago,Before you hire a lawyer wait to see if there are any charges filed against you,Good luck

Thanks for all the input guys..

Yeah I just googled grand larceny and it is well over that amount. Over the course of a couple months we had paid him for the material that he was ordering from a copper wire distributor under his employers name. His loads were anywhere from 1000-2000lbs of copper wire. Unfortunately, we paid the dude cash every time which I think was a big fail on our part. I hope my guys were just fooled in this situation and not a part of it.

So because of their stupid actions I am liable? This sucks.