contract-law damages
What can I do if a painter puts paint / plaster in my shampoo bottle?
<p>We have a very mean and short-tempered guy painting our apartment -- it's a several days job.  Tonight, I found what appears to be paint or plaster in my shampoo bottle; I twisted off the cap of the shampoo to smell the inside, and it reeks of paint / plaster.  The texture is also very thick and very warm (indicating that it's likely plaster) rather than the usual runny texture of the shampoo.</p>
<p>What can I do about this?  Can I call the police on him when he arrives tomorrow morning?</p>
<p>Should I question him about the shampoo?</p>
<p>I have told this to our landlord, who told us to set the shampoo aside for him to inspect.</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>

<p>I wouldn't rely on a legal remedy. The police likely won't care and I can't imagine a lawsuit being worth it. Are you sure it was malicious? Maybe he just put it in an available bottle to make application easier.</p>
<p>The sane thing would probably have been to ask him about it in the first place. For these minor issues you can, in theory, deduct it from money you are paying. So if your landlord cost you a bottle of shampoo you could pay him $5 less this month and tell him you used the $5 to buy new shampoo since the guy he hired cost you a bottle.</p>
<p>But I feel like the landlord can screw you as well if they don't like you (I have been screwed by many landlords). So you have to ask yourself how much that shampoo was worth.</p>
