question: firearm as a gift

[solo]

so, i go into business with this guy and things are going great. making some money. life is good. down the road, i told him i was in need of another carry pistol and he gives me a beretta 84fs as a gift for christmas. really nice. later on i find out he is cheating customers and coming on to my wife so i break of the partnership clean. nobody owes anybody anything. some time passes and he shows up and wants HIS pistol back. i told him i only had guns that were mine and had nothing of his. it was a gift. mine. no bill of sale on this because i figured it was a gift. my question would be does he have any legal ground to making me give my pistol to him. any constructive input would be appreciated.

 

[mgonza]

Unless he can some how prove that he gifted the firearm to you while under duress or some other outside influence. Or if the transaction was completed while he was intoxicated then no. It would be a civil matter anyway. there is nothing the police can do.
Not legal advise.

 

[NWSharpshooter]

I would just give it back and be done with him. Doesn't seem like it would be worth the headache.

 

[Patronus]

I would just give it back and be done with him. Doesn't seem like it would be worth the headache.

Yeah..not like it's a Glock or anything.

I'd make sure it's empty before you give it back and do so in front of witnesses. In fact if you can get someone to video you giving it back it wouldn't hurt. Maybe even prepare a statement for him to sign acknowleging receipt of it. You never know when someone like he sounds like willend up ticking off the wrong person and they make him eat his own gun. Best if you are well clean of it.

 

[57tr6]

I would just give it back and be done with him. Doesn't seem like it would be worth the headache.

Yea is this something you are going to have to deal with like forever...might not be worth it. Scumbags have a tendency to not go away. However I think you are in your rights to keep it.

 

[timbgtm]

Good advice.

 

[DaveTheMinion]

If he purchased it from an ffl, he may have proof he owns it. If not, well he can't prove he owned it in the first place and they'll laugh him out of court.

 

[jwk1340]

If he purchased it from an ffl, he may have proof he owns it. If not, well he can't prove he owned it in the first place and they'll laugh him out of court.

This^^^ and he could report it stolen!

 

[ArmedinAtlanta]

I am a practicing attorney (but not your attorney, so you may not rely on this post as advice of counsel) and one of the most important things I do for my client is to let them know when it would be inefficient to stand by their strict legal rights. In a legal sense, I cannot foresee this man having a valid claim to the firearm. However, he could very well sue to recover the pistol or money damages, whether or not he has a bona fide claim. While he would likely sue in magistrate court and you would be able to defend the suit pro se (meaning that you would represent yourself and not engage an attorney), he could also sue in a county court of general jurisdiction, and you would be forced, by the more complex procedures in that forum, to hire an attorney to defend the suit. Assuming the pistol is worth $500 (I have no idea of the real value), you could conceivably expend twice or three times the value of the weapon (based on an assumed billing rate of $150-$200 per hour) in just getting your attorney up to speed and filing an answer to the suit.

I have no idea how litigious this dude is, and the threat of him filing suit may not be a serious one, so you may consider just hanging on to the pistol until you are served with a suit and then simply returning the pistol in settlement. However, if you want to proactively foreclose the possibility of being sued, I would suggest following NWSharpshooter's advice and return the pistol in such a way that you can prove it has been returned (a bill of sale with this dude's signature should suffice, but photographing him with the weapon, like the Army does when they distribute things to the Afghan National Army, would be relatively airtight.)

Just my $0.02 and, again, the above does not constitute legal advice, just an informational post about the parties' rights in a hypothetical sense.

 

[jcountry]

Give it back.

Not worth the trouble.