The office lunch theft accusation

Finley v. Cameron/Work/Filed Sep 25, 2026

Personal drinks in a shared office fridge were taken until the owner said they were personal.

Plaintiff

Finley

A coworker repeatedly took drinks from the shared office fridge that I purchased personally, even after I asked them to stop.

Defense

Cameron

The fridge shelf had always been treated as communal, nothing was labeled, and I stopped as soon as I understood those drinks were personal.

Findings of the court

The drinks were personal, and the taking continued after a direct ask to stop.

Finley bought the drinks personally.
The shelf had been treated as communal, and the drinks were unlabeled.
Cameron kept taking them after Finley asked them to stop, then stopped once that was clear.

The court has reached a decision.

Verdict

After the ask, the drinks were off limits.

An unlabeled shelf can look shared. A direct request ends that guess. The drinks taken after Finley said stop are on Cameron. The ones taken before that request are not.

Order

Cameron replaces the drinks taken after being asked to stop.

Communal until someone says it is theirs. Then it is theirs.

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