Parents lose lawsuit over destruction of son's porn stash

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Parents lose lawsuit over destruction of son’s porn stash

December 18, 2020

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — A man who sued his parents for getting rid of his pornography collection has won a lawsuit in western Michigan and can seek compensation.

U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney ruled in favor of David Werking, who said his parents had no right to throw out his collection. He lived at their Grand Haven home for 10 months after a divorce before moving to Muncie, Indiana.

Werking said boxes of films and magazines worth an estimated $29,000 were missing, including “Frisky Business” and “Big Bad Grannys.”

“There is no question that the destroyed property was David’s property,” Maloney said Monday. “Defendants repeatedly admitted that they destroyed the property.”

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/michigan-lawsuits-grand-haven-indiana-muncie-0957ffc7f402356f1b00d356a35e02b3

______________________________________________________________________

Source: BBC

US judge says parents owe son over trashed porn collection

18 December 2020

A US judge in Michigan has ruled that a 42-year-old man can seek compensation from his parents for destroying his pornography collection.

David Werking, who was living with his parents following a divorce, sued them over the items, which he claims were worth over $25,000 (£18,500).

His parents argued that they told Mr Werking to not bring the items home.

The judge said that, even as landlords, Mr Werking's parents had no right to dispose of items owned by their son.

Mr Werking had lived with his parents in Grand Haven, Michigan, for 10 months after his divorce, but moved out in August 2017. He now lives in Indiana.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55370919

[hlthe2b]

1. Seems they could recoup the judgement with a bill for his 10 months of room & board...

[TEB]

2. Exactly

[jimfields33]

5. Yep!

[Rorey]

6. I don't think so

If they didn't have an agreement that he would pay them for room and board, it's doubtful that they'd be awarded anything for it. They can't make up a contract after the fact.

[hlthe2b]

7. Countersuit.

[Rorey]

8. Only if they already had an agreement about room and board

Actually, the article doesn't address that. Perhaps he did pay them room and board.

What they should have done was given him a specified time period to get his things out, and then, in effect, done an eviction.

I'm no expert, but I am a landlord, and I know I have to be very careful about what I do with items left behind when a tenant moves out.

[hlthe2b]

12. Verbal agreements remain legal in a number of states and there is no automatic assumption for

provision of living support beyond the age of 18 from parents, unless the son is disabled and declared as a dependant. So in some states, the bar is not so high. I've met many a former judge that would not look kindly at a 40 plus-year-old suing his parents, even while the case for the destruction of property was clear-cut. So, I'd not bet the farm that the parents would pay out a dime.

[Rorey]

14. Well, unless they appeal and win, they probably will

There's more to the story. I posted a link to a more detailed article farther down.

(Reply #13)

[hlthe2b]

16. Yuck. What a creep. Poor parents...

[Rorey]

17. I definitely don't blame them for destroying his stuff

I wish they'd saved the evidence and had the courage to turn him in, though I can understand how difficult that would be for them. I doubt they ever thought their own son would sue them.

[Rorey]

10. A situation I faced

In 2019 I had a situation in which a tenant died and wasn't found for about 10 days. The biohazard team disposed of almost the entire contents of the house, but I did make sure I got permission from her only living relative. It was a delicate situation, and I hated that I had to ask him for permission, but I had to protect myself. I still worried for a long time about ramifications.

[Ponietz]

18. The equitable theory of unjust enrichment can provide relief in situations without contracts

[Doodley]

3. He had 25,000 bucks of porn. Not surprising his marriage didn't work out.

[LuvNewcastle]

4. That was quite a collection.

I used to have a bunch of porn, but it was probably worth about $300. You would have to have a whole lot of it to be worth that much. If I had anything that valuable, I would find secure storage for it rather than risk it's destruction, which he did when he brought it into their house against their will.

[mitch96]

9. I wonder if the parents can charge him for back room and board growing up?

Or charge for back storage fees...
I guess he is no longer in the will....
m

[Rorey]

11. Probably won't be invited for holidays for a long time

I'm pretty sure that my own kids would be too mortified to sue me over something like that, but I can't imagine any of them ever taking me to court, or vice versa. Of course I wouldn't have destroyed their things, even if I didn't approve.

My oldest son does some weird art, and when he moved to another state he left some of it at my house. I didn't like it, but I put it where I didn't have to look at it, and then finally took it to him when I went for a visit.

[Rorey]

13. Whoa! A more extensive article

[link:https://lawandcrime.com/crazy/42-year-old-man-wins-lawsuit-against-parents-who-threw-away-his-large-collection-of-porn/|

Looks like David Werking is one sick individual (allegedly). It's too bad his parents destroyed the property instead of turning it over to authorities.

From the article: "According to the Holland Sentinel, David’s father claimed that some of the pornographic material was particularly disturbing, including depictions of “incestuous sexual relationship, along with depictions of sex with minors and animals, sexual assault and slavery.”

“That you would buy and watch films depicting such violence is beyond the pale,” Werking’s father wrote in an email entered into evidence. “I have no words to express the depth of my shock and disappointment. Believe it or not, one reason for why I destroyed your porn was for your own mental and emotional health. I would have done the same if I had found a kilo of crack cocaine.”

The parents destroyed the evidence. David Werking will likely take his settlement, which could be substantially higher than the $25,000 he initially claimed his sick collection was worth because his attorney says they're going for treble damages, and buy more sick crap. Hopefully law enforcement will be keeping an eye on him and he'll be criminally charged.

[3Hotdogs]

15. Well, balls to me. My mother threw out all my baseball cards, including Mickey Mantle.

How do I get $$$ + $$$ from her?

[CloudWatcher]

19. Parents are real gems too I think.

He moved out in August of 2017 ... "over the ensuing months David asked for his items to be returned several times, but in Jan. 2018 his parents told him that any property not yet returned had been destroyed"

Might be interesting to hear why they didn't return (or allow him to fetch?) his property. In any event, a wonderful family. I'm sure they will be having a great time together over the holidays.