Getting a stolen rifle back from ATF?

It's a bailment.

The standard of care would be ordinary care in most jurisdictions, I would think.

Since guns are an attractive target for theft, ordinary care could be a pretty high standard.

More facts are needed than just that the gunsmith was burglarized.
 
It strikes me as unusual that gunsmithing fees would have been paid in advance. I personally would never advance fees for professional services - particularly if no parts of significant cost are being ordered as part of services rendered.
 
It's not at all unusual for a service business to require an up-front deposit for work to be performed on an item that's left in the shop, especially when the value of the work is close to, or even exceeds, the value of the item when it's brought in.

It's a form of insurance in case a customer refuses to pay after the work is performed, or, for whatever reason, never collects the item. It's also a demonstration that the customer has the ability to pay, which isn't always the case. I spent 20+ years working in such a business, and ran my own for half that time. I only remember one occasion when a prospective customer refused to pay a deposit; it was much more the norm for customers to ask me up front how much of a deposit I needed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top