Massive theft at Dallas card show, Nearly 2 Million Dollars worth of cards stolen

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by Mark17

What does the SOL accomplish for the thieves? Can someone steal something, sit quietly on it until the Statue of Limitations runs out, then sell the stolen goods with impunity?

Depends.

Criminal and civil are two different things.

Most states have exceptions to civil limitations periods that extend the time to recover stolen items. Usually, these give the victim time after an article is discovered or should have been discovered if the victim was paying attention. Some items, like looted art from WWII, have been subjected to new limitations periods based on special legislation. While a thief cannot acquire good title, the victim may lose the ability to retrieve the item if enough time has passed, which amounts to the same thing as good title. I am certain that most of us have items in our collections that were stolen at one time or another, even if it was a kid lifting a card from his brother's collection while the brother was in the army.

Every state has a different set of rules and precedents covering this issue, so no blanket rule can be stated. I know Cali law but jacksquat about Texas law, so any Texans out there to further elaborate?