bailment
generally speaking, what has been discussed here is the law of bailments. a bailment is created when one person holds the property of another for the benefit of either one of them or a 3rd party. at common law, which is what our system of laws is based on, the person who benefited from the bailment was the responsible party. most states have created or adopted statutes that address a mechanic or baylor's responsibility. notices in shops disclaiming responsibility are only effective if there is a statute authorizing such a waiver by notice. unless a statute abrogates your right, parties are free to contract on any matter that isn't illegal and who is responsible is one of those matters. in that you pay the same entity I would look first at the lease for your slip, does it assign responsibility, second look at any contract you have had in the past with the yard for work, does that contract assign responsibility, and then dont just rely on the contract go look up the statute, merchants put terms in their contracts all the time that are not enforceable as they cause a certain percentage of the population to disband other wise legitimate claims. and finally look it up or ask a local attorney about your claim, many states have automatic attorney fees provisions in suits agianst mechanics and such if the claim is under a few thousand dollars. if your claim fits an attorney can handle your claim for much less out of pocket as the other side will likely have to pay your attorney fees if you prevail. this helps many cases, where there is a clear answer under the law actually settle. as for the shop saying they wouldn't be responsible even if the motor was in their shop this is quite unlikely and you should consider viewing what they tell you with a healty level of distrust. if the yard is required to be insured or bonded you are very likely entitled to the name and account numbers so you can file a claim. you can then notify the insurer or bond company directly and see what their response is. if the yard refuses to provide you this information check with the city, county or secretary of states office, where ever they are required to be licensed and the information will likely be public record, and they can probably tell you if the yard was required to disclose this info to you upon request and if they were and they refused you can file a report at the same time. sorry such a lenghty response
