Mechanic Being Threatened With Lawsuit Over Abandoned Car He Junked — What Are His Options?

My father (a mechanic, “Mr. H”) is being threatened with legal action if he doesn’t either return a car to the owner (“Mr. S”) or pay the car’s blue book value plus legal fees.

Here’s the background:

Several years ago (before the pandemic), Mr. S brought his car to my dad asking for a specific repair.

After diagnosing the issue, my dad told him the requested fix wouldn’t solve the real problem and didn’t want to do it. The customer insisted, so my dad agreed — but made it clear (in front of Mr. S and his father) that he would not be responsible if the car still had issues.

The job was paid for and completed, but as expected, the problem remained.

After that:

My dad repeatedly told the owner and his father/partner that the job was done, and if they wanted the car fixed properly, they’d have to pay for the repair he recommended.

The car sat on my dad’s rented lot for years, abandoned. During that time, it took up paid parking space, was never picked up, and eventually got flooded. At that point, it was essentially worthless.

My dad eventually had the car hauled away by a junkyard.

Now, years later, the owner suddenly started demanding the car back. When he found out it was gone, he began threatening my dad, demanding either the return of the car (impossible) or full blue book value plus legal fees.

The car was never worth its blue book value in the first place (it had major issues), and certainly not after years of sitting and flood damage. My dad realizes he didn’t follow formal procedures for declaring the car abandoned, but he feels it’s unfair to have to pay what the owner is demanding.

Question: What legal steps should my dad take at this point? Does he have any defense since the car was abandoned for years, or is he likely to be forced to pay the amount being demanded?

Location: Florida (Broward)