When an employee walks out the door holding your company’s stuff hostage, you have two problems: (1) your property, and (2) the story you’re creating for the inevitable lawsuit.
Years of federal litigation followed. Haribo ultimately won. Some claims died on summary judgment. The rest died at trial. But that’s not the point.
What started as a property-return dispute metastasized into 15 rounds of litigation. Depositions. Summary judgment briefing. A jury trial. And who knows how many hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
Winning doesn’t mean it was cheap. Or fast. Or worth it.
Employers, property recovery is not just an IT/HR chore. It’s evidence management. Every email, every deadline, every adjective becomes a future exhibit.
So what’s the right playbook?
1) Separate the issues. Severance discussions are one lane. Property return is another. Put it in writing: return of company property is required regardless of whether we reach a severance agreement.
2) Make the demand letter boring. List the items. Confirm ownership. Set a firm deadline. Offer a neutral handoff option. Avoid loaded language. “Stolen” is a conclusion. “Company-owned equipment not returned after X written requests” is a fact.
3) Lock down data immediately. Disable access. Remote wipe if appropriate. Document what you did and when you did it.
4) Think carefully before calling the police. Sometimes it’s warranted. But it’s also gasoline. If you go that route, assume you’ll be defending the decision to a jury.
5) Don’t let frustration write your emails. Words like “hostage” and “blackmail” feel good in the moment and look terrible in a complaint.
6) A civil replevin or conversion action is a last resort. It may get your property back. It will not avoid litigation. If anything, it invites whatever claims the employee was already contemplating.
Every escalation decision should answer two questions: Is this necessary? And are we prepared to live with the litigation consequences?
Litigation should be a strategy, not a reflex. Act accordingly.
