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.

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.

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.

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

(Reply #13)

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.