Portland small claims court directs storage-unit access, denies $1,200 claim

Portland small claims court ordered Evan Mercer to provide Nina Calder access to collect her tools and folding tables from a storage unit, but denied her request for $1,200 because she had not proved a monetary loss or its value.

The order calls for pickup at the unit on June 27 at 10 a.m., as Mercer offered, or another prompt time if that is unsuitable. Calder accepted an arranged pickup during the hearing. The court said the record did not show that collection had already occurred.

The dispute turned on whether Calder had fair warning that her access would end before the June 30 clearance deadline she said she had received. Mercer changed the lock on June 22; Calder said her key did not work when she went to the unit on June 24.

A dated copy of the original notice and Calder's consistent account supported the June 30 deadline, the court found. Mercer's revised notice was dated June 15 and stated that access ended June 20, but the copy did not prove delivery. The described mailing record was dated June 23, after the lock change, and did not establish when Calder received the notice.

On the evidence presented, the June 30 deadline and lack of demonstrated timely warning were better supported than Mercer's position that access had effectively ended on June 20. The court also found that the proposed pickup was a practical remedy for the dispute.

The $1,200 request stood on different footing. The record contained no itemized values, receipts, estimates or other valuation evidence, and did not establish that the belongings could not be returned. The court awarded no money to either party.

Calder said she had received no earlier notice changing the June 30 deadline and that Mercer refused her access when she tried to collect her belongings. She initially sought their return or $1,200 and a filing fee; during the hearing, she accepted arranged access and said she would not seek money for items she could retrieve.

Mercer said the tools and folding tables remained safe and offered a specific pickup time, with a prompt alternative if needed. He acknowledged that the mailing record did not establish when Calder received the revised notice and opposed the $1,200 request for lack of itemized values or supporting records.

Calder rented the small Portland storage unit from Mercer. After finding that her key no longer worked on June 24, she texted him about the changed lock; the tools and folding tables remained inside.

The court described the parties' submissions as attributed accounts rather than sworn testimony. It also said the signed agreement itself was described as available but was not presented, so its full terms could not be examined. The access finding was limited to the evidence before the court and did not decide broader ownership or possession rights, or claims concerning unidentified items.