On Tuesday, October 15, 2013 8:24:06 PM UTC-4, SteveB wrote:
On 9/26/2013 4:56 PM, Alex Gunderson wrote:

I realize this is a legal question but has anyone here had this happen.

Any advice?



1. Bought a house, as is, in 2010, which came with a 1,000 gallon propane tank attached.

2. Entered into agreement with fuel company "1" for fuel in 2010.

3. No tank rental is paid to fuel company 1 because it's not their tank

4. Recently a workman (inspecting the tank because of a new BBQ) mentioned that company 2 owns the tank

5. Company 2 was recently bought by company 1.



Nothing more has happened, but, who owns that tank?



I feel "I" own it by virtue of multiple circumstances (but I'm not a lawyer!):

a. I bought the house and everything attached to it

b. I never signed an agreement with company 2

c. Company 2 abandoned that tank long ago (IMHO)



I suspect, if company 1 wants to assert ownership of that tank, they could say:

A. Company 2 originally owned the tank

B. Company 2 still owns that tank

C. Therefore, company 1 (who owns company 2) owns that tank.



Have you ever been in this situation?

What advice do you have for me?



TIA



I can offer only my same experiences in similar situations, and as in

one size does not fit all, here goes.



Basically, the best first thing to do is to call the local supplier(s).

Those would be the people who you will be dealing with on an ongoing

relationship to come and fill the tank, make sure it is up to snuff code

wise, and inspection wise.



If you read the OP, which you included with your post
he's been there and done that.
About 3 years ago when he bought the house, he chose a
supplier, they came out and inspected the tank before
starting service.





I am familiar with high pressure vessels, and vessels containing various

gases from my welding expertise. Ownership of said vessel may not be

what it appears, and by that I mean that if a dealer "owns" a vessel,

and has been renting/leasing that vessel to a homeowner, they still

retain legal ownership. It does not matter to the legal owner that the

possessor of such item "sells" it to another person, that person may not

be legally capable of "SELLING" such an item. It would be like selling

a leased car. IOW, the seller of the house may have been "selling"

something that they did not own, such as a leased water treatment

system, or other things that may be in the possession of the homeowner,

yet be owned by another person.



Again, we've been through all that a dozen times already.





In such a case, the seller was obligated to divulge to you under

disclosure laws that certain item(s) were not the seller's to sell.



Which brings us back to the starting point. And that is .......... call

the company who "may" own the tank, and explain to them the situation.

That you want to do the right thing, although the seller might have not.

They will want your future business, and I would think they would give

a little ground here, wanting your future and ongoing business.



Again, if you read the thread, the company who he thinks
likely owned the tank has been bought by the company who
he has had servicing the tank for the last 3 years.





You are in a bad place here,

And why exactly is that? He's had a tank for 3 years
that he believed was his. No one came to claim it.
Surely when the previous owner discontinued gas service
that company should have known enough to come get their
tank if they wanted it back. He hasn't hid the tank,
it's sitting there in plain sight.

Further, the company that he chose and has been using
has now bought the original company. They were there
recently for another service issue and while there the
service guy looked up the tank in their records, which
presumably now include records of the original company,
and told him that was who owned it. So, if the service
guy is correct, the current company owns it and knows
about it.

Meanwhile he's had a tank for free for 3 years and so
far the company hasn't done anything about it. They
might, if the service guy goes back and reports it,
etc. But if they do, so what? What "bad place"
exactly is he in?



possibly insisting that property that is

actually "stolen" from the legal owner is in your possession, which may

be the case. Do not insist on yours "rights", and "possession is

nine-tenths stuff.



Why shouldn't he insist on his rights? Good grief.
I suppose he should go down to the police and turn
himself in, when he's done nothing wrong.




I think that if you approach the company with the right attitude, that

they should do the right thing, want your future business, and work out

a solution.



They have his business. He apparently has their tank.
They know it. I don't see any compelling need for hime
to do anything unless someone else initiates some kind
of action, eg starting to charge for tank rental.







Let us know how it shakes out.



Steve