Paying Damages for a Laptop and Deleted Programs

Hi, I borrowed my friend's laptop and damaged it. I now need to pay him back a new one. My questions are:
 a. Do I need to pay for a new computer, or since it was two years old do I pay the value of a second-hand computer, and how do I calculate that?
 b. Since I work in jewelry, can I pay him with jewelry instead of cash? He wants specifically cash.
 c. There were expensive programs installed on the laptop. Do I need to pay for the loss of those programs?

Answer:

 Thank you for your question.

 a. How much do you have to pay for the damaged laptop?

One has to pay the value of the laptop at the time of the damage, not the price of a new one.

If it is something that could have been sold today as a second-hand laptop, then you would pay according to the amount it could have sold for on the day it was damaged.

If it is an item that people generally do not buy second-hand, you may evaluate it according to the average lifespan of such a laptop. For example, if on average a laptop lasts four years and this one was already two years old, then you would pay the remaining value (about half).

This is based on Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 387:

שולחן ערוך חושן משפט הלכות נזיקין סימן שפז

שמין למזיק בידו, כדרך ששמין לו אם הזיק ממונו. כיצד, הרי שהרג בהמת חבירו או שבר כליו, שמין כמה היתה הבהמה שוה וכמה הנבילה שוה, וכמה היה הכלי שוה והוא שלם וכמה שוה עתה, ומשלם הפחת לניזק עם הנבילה או הכלי השבור, כדרך שנתבאר בשורו שהזיק, בסימן ת"ג. 

Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, Laws of Damages, Siman 387

We assess liability for a person who causes damage through his own actions in the same way that we assess liability when he damages another person’s property. How does this work? If someone killed another person’s animal or broke his utensils, we evaluate the value of the animal before it was killed and the value of the carcass afterward, and likewise the value of the utensil when it was whole and its value after it was broken. The damager then pays the difference to the injured party, while the carcass or the broken utensil remains with the owner, just as was explained regarding an ox that caused damage in Siman 403.

b. Can you pay with jewelry instead of cash?

Even if your friend prefers cash, halachically you may pay with other items, including jewelry. However, the jewelry must be valued at the price for which it can be sold immediately, so that its value is the same as giving actual cash.

This is based on Choshen Mishpat 419:

שולחן ערוך חושן משפט הלכות נזקי ממון סימן תיט

ואפי' שיש לו כסף, יכול לפורעו בסובין, דכל מטלטלים מיטב נינהו. ושמין אותה כמו שיכול למוכרה מיד ובמקומו. 

Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, Hilchos Nezkei Mamon, Siman 319

Even if he has money, he may pay with bran (meaning something of value, other than money), because all movable objects are considered meitav. And we assess its value according to the price for which it can be sold immediately and in that place.

c. Do you need to pay for the loss of expensive programs that were on the laptop?

This question relates to the halacha of hezek she’aino nikar (damage that is not physically visible). In many cases, damage that only makes something halachically unusable is considered non-tangible, and the damager may be exempt if it was accidental. This is the quote from the Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 385

המזיק את חבירו היזק שאינו ניכר, כגון שעירב יין נסך ביינו, מן התורה הוא פטור, אבל חכמים קנסוהו לשלם נזק שלם מהיפה שבנכסיו, כדין כל המזיקים. לפיכך אם מת המזיק קודם שישלם, אין קונסין בנו אחריו לשלם. וכן אם היה שוגג או אנוס, פטור, שלא קנסו אלא מזיד. 

Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, Laws of Damages, Siman 385

One who causes damage to his fellow in a way that is not externally noticeable, for example by mixing wine of idolatrous libation into his wine, is exempt by Torah law. However, the Sages penalized him and required him to pay full damages, from the best of his property, like all who cause damage.

Therefore, if the one who caused the damage died before paying, his son is not penalized to pay after him. However, if he acted unintentionally or under compulsion, he is exempt, since the penalty was imposed only on one who acted deliberately.

However, Rav Fried shlit”a explains that this applies only when the damage is purely halachic (for example, mixing yayin nesech into wine), where the wine is still physically here but halachically forbidden.

Deleting files or software is different. The loss is tangible and real, not just halachic. Therefore, one would be liable to pay for the value of the programs that were erased, even if it is expensive and even if it was erased by mistake.

Wishing you well.

Azamroh Li'shmecho #185

Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 387

Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 419

Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 385