It's always best to see the best in people and to assume that they'll do the right thing when the need arises.
But some people make that mindset really difficult to maintain, cringed the members of the "Am I Overreacting?" (AIO) subReddit.
Redditor BelltotheShell recently lost their wedding ring, only for it to be found and handed in at the Police Department for them to recover. While that was a positive experience, they were surprised when the person who turned it in also tried to claim it.
When they later expected the Original Poster (OP) to pay their court fees for trying to claim the ring, they were shocked and refused to cover the fees.
They asked the sub:
"Am I overreacting by refusing to pay court filing fees that someone filed to claim my wedding rings?"
The OP was surprised when a stranger handed in their wedding rings but also tried to claim them.
"I lost my wedding ring. It got turned in to the Police Department, and I went and picked it up…"
"Someone was going to court over being able to claim my ring if I didn’t go to claim it…"
"Cool, I dunno what you would do with someone else’s meaningful wedding bands, but to each their own."
When the stranger didn't get the ring, they at least wanted their court fees covered.
"Well, I got a call from the courthouse, asking if I would reimburse the person for their filing fee? It was $107…"
"Mind you, the manager of the store (where I knew I lost it) told them that they had my contact information, and this person refused to leave it with them… They opted to turn it into the Police Department."
"I'm realizing that the only reason they did it that way was so they could legally own my ring after going through the court process."
The OP wasn't convinced they should have to cover the fees.
"So I guess the question is, would you pay the person back for filing with the court to own YOUR ring?"
"Am I overreacting for refusing to pay them for trying to claim my ring?"
"Now I’ve been added to the case so he can ask the court for reimbursement either by the courthouse or by me… It's scheduled for next month."
"I was told it had to be 180 days unclaimed, with a newspaper article posted for 'Found Ring.' It wasn’t even close to 180 days, and no article was ever posted in the Classifieds or anywhere else, let alone even a Facebook post…"
"I had considered sending a thank-you card with a gift card of appreciation, but now I feel like it’s more about greed and less about kindness from this person."
"AIO?"
Fellow Redditors weighed in:
- NOR: Not Overreacting
- YOR: You're Overreacting
Some agreed with the OP that the stranger's behavior was incredibly weird and off-putting.
"NOR. You hit the nail on the head. It's super weird for them to be trying to get a ring that doesn't belong to them."
"You'd think they'd just be happy that the person who lost it found it since they cared enough to take it to the police station in the first place." - Erin_Derrick_Art
"The whole thing was calculated. You don't file court paperwork to help someone find their ring; you do it to try to keep it."
"NOR. OP is right to refuse." - Available_Agent3305
"There’s also no way any officer of the court would have called her to ask, 'Pretty please with a cherry on top, will you reimburse Johnny Jacka** for the cost of filing this claim?!'"
"I’d bet all $107 that Johnny Jacka** got his wife or some other woman he knows to call and pretend to be from the court to try to extort OP."
"Let him add her to the case. I would love to sit in the courtroom when the judge laughs him out of it." - PatioGardener
"They did the right thing by turning it in, but trying to get the ring for themselves after knowing it belonged to someone else makes the whole thing feel pretty weird and greedy." - Impressive_Wrap_6700
"NOR. They had zero reason to file anything with a court. They did what they should have done, as any respectful and decent person should have. That was to hand it in to the police."
"I get they didn't want to leave it with the shopkeeper. Who files papers so soon after handing it in and knowing it would be/was collected by the owner?"
"I may have sent a gift as a thank you, but definitely not now!!" - No_BSING_Here
"I found four or five rings on the side of a hotel pool. Looked like expensive rings, but I really don’t know."
"I wanted the owners, who were probably guests at the hotel too, to get their rings back. I know if it were me, I would be devastated."
"I went to the front desk and asked about their lost and found; it was a shoebox under the counter. I didn’t trust that."
"I told them I found the rings and if anyone came asking about them to call me. They said, 'Oh, we can’t do that; you have to turn them in.' I said, 'No, I am not; if they want the person to get their rings back, to call me.'"
"They had a few choice things to say, but I really felt they were going to keep them, so I held firm."
"A couple of hours later, the front desk called and asked if I had the rings. I said yes. They asked if I could bring them to the lobby."
"I asked to speak to the person. I asked a couple of questions about the stones or something like that. I was comfortable that they were the owners, so I gave them my room number to come pick them up."
"I had not shown the front desk people or anyone but my husband the rings."
"They were in tears when I opened the door. I was very glad I had not trusted their lost and found."
"That's as far as it should have gone. No court, no filing, just good faith. NOR, OP." - Brave-King-3682
"NOR. If they had good intentions, then they would have left all the information when turning in the ring. They showed true intentions and shouldn’t be rewarded for that."
"I totally would have felt the same way, by wanting to give them something as a token of appreciation, but after knowing the full story, I wouldn’t." - AtmosphereOwn2389
Others reassured the OP that they weren't required to cover these fees and should just be glad they got their ring back.
"'Well, I got a call from the courthouse, asking if I would reimburse the person for their filing fee...' Like, why WOULD you? NOR." - k23_k23
"You are generally not responsible for paying the finder's court costs if you legally claimed your wedding ring within the proper statutory time frame and established your ownership."
"NOR. They can ask; you can say no. The courts will ultimately make the final decision. Given what you have provided here, it does not sound likely that you will be on the hook for their court costs." - Scorp128
"The way it works is you turn it into the local police station, and they take a report. If the person doesn't claim it in a legally specified period of time, it reverts to you, and you get to keep it."
"That person was just hoping OP wouldn't claim it, but they have no standing to sue to get something that wasn't theirs in the first place. If they did file a small claims suit, that's on them."
"They get to lose their fee for being greedy and entitled. Simple as. NOR." - Wyshunu
"See if the store manager would be willing to write a statement stating they told the finder they could contact you. That right there proves ill intentions of wanting to keep the property."
"Courts almost never issue sanctions against pro se litigants, but there might be a chance of sanctions if you can demonstrate bad faith and abuse of the court’s processes. Showing that the plaintiff had no intrinsic right to the ring and was on notice that the ring would be returned to the rightful owner could be useful in a sanctions effort."
"Also, it would show that the store owner knew the rings to be yours prior to return, which could be useful to counter a claim that you did not have a right to the rings (e.g. anticipating a plaintiff claim that you were not the rightful owner)."
"If you anticipate that the plaintiff objects on hearsay grounds, then you might consider asking the store owner to attend the hearing as a witness."
"I would also bring a picture showing the rings in your possession prior to the loss if you have one. The picture is technically hearsay, so you will need to authenticate it and identify a hearsay exception (unless the judge relaxes the rules of evidence for pro se litigants)."
"Needless to say, NOR." - Sky_Lawyer
"They’re the one that filed the court claim, so they’re the one that should eat the cost. Let the greedy suffer at their own expense. NOR." - 5WEET_Cheeks_Karen
"NOR. And this answers your question about what they'd want with someone else's meaningful ring: to turn it into a profit."
"The fact they're still trying to get money in this situation is just bonkers. Their stupid move should cost THEM, not you." - tafackery
"What? No. That is absurd. NOR; this is ridiculous. Now you have to go to court?!"
"If you're feeling really petty, sue them in small claims for the time and money that will cost you. (I don't know if you can actually do that.) NOR." - chainlinkchipmunk
The subreddit was surprised that someone would go to these extremes to get someone else's wedding ring, but they fully supported the OP in not covering someone else's fees.
One thing was for certain: if they'd done this out of the goodness of their heart, they wouldn't have expected someone else to cover the court filing fees that, really, they shouldn't have filed in the first place.
