So a private parking sign blew into my car on a random road where I can't imagine there being?

Question

...any private parking. There was a pretty bad storm and there was no obvious place for this sign to go (it literally blew into the side of my car, left a nice dent), so anyway my friend picked it up. Not like I'm going to do anything about it, but is this technically considered stealing it?

Answer 1

Well, no one knows where it actually came from. Then, it caused damage to your car. The owner of the sign (who may never be found) might be held liable for not mounting it well enough to prevent it from flying off and hitting your car. I would think that the damage to your car can be valued at more than the sign. So on balance, in my opinion, it is not 'stealing' in the real sense. Keep the sign and the dent as a souvenir pair of sorts.

Answer 2

Yes it is.

Answer 3

Yes it is considered stealing and you would face the same charges if you stole someones bike, stealing if stealing in the eyes of the law.