Porch Pirate Injuries, Package Theft, and Liability Claims

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Package theft is no longer a petty annoyance. It’s a nationwide safety and consumer-protection problem—one that leaves families financially exposed, neighborhoods vulnerable, and property owners and retailers avoiding responsibility.

At The Epstein Law Firm, we have the ability to represent individuals and families harmed by porch piracy and related security failures. These personal injury cases often involve more than a stolen box. They raise serious questions about negligent security, unsafe property conditions, delivery practices, and who bears the risk when theft is foreseeable and preventable.

When Porch Piracy Becomes a Legal Claim

Porch pirate cases frequently intersect with broader liability issues, including:

• Negligent security at apartment complexes, condominiums, and managed communities
• Property owner and landlord failures to address known theft risks in common areas

• Retailer and delivery practices that leave packages unattended despite repeat thefts

• Injuries during thefts, including assaults, falls, or confrontations triggered by package theft

• Denied refunds and consumer losses, even when theft is documented

These cases are not about bad luck. They’re about foreseeability. When theft is predictable and systemic, inaction becomes negligence.

The Scale of the Problem

Porch piracy has exploded alongside online shopping:

• More than 104 million packages were stolen nationwide this year

• Nearly half of all Americans have been victims of package theft

• Shoppers lost an estimated $16 billion in stolen goods last year

• In just a three-month period, over 190,000 New Jersey residents had packages stolen

Despite these numbers, many consumers are left holding the bag—literally. Roughly 25% of families are unable to obtain refunds for stolen deliveries, even when theft is reported.

New Federal Attention: The Porch Pirates Act

On December 1, 2025—Cyber Monday—U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer announced bipartisan legislation known as the Porch Pirates Act, signaling a major shift in how seriously lawmakers are treating package theft.

The proposed legislation would:

• Make theft of packages delivered by private carriers (such as Amazon, UPS, and FedEx) a federal crime, not just USPS mail

• Establish federal penalties, including fines and prison terms of up to three, five, or ten years depending on the circumstances

• Grant the FBI and Department of Justice authority to investigate porch piracy cases

• Create a uniform national baseline for enforcement without overriding state laws

• Extend interstate commerce protections all the way to a consumer’s front porch

Congressman Gottheimer has also urged retailers, shipping associations, and federal inspectors to address refund denials and systemic delivery vulnerabilities.

Legislation alone won’t solve the problem—but it underscores what consumers already know: porch piracy is not trivial, and accountability matters.

This initiative is an additional layer of legal protections on the existing statute, N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2. This is the theft and computer crimes statute, which was amended to add residential package theft (“porch piracy”) as a distinct category of theft (third-degree offense). 

This change was enacted through the Defense Against Porch Pirates Act (legislative bill A3870 / S2807), which amended the existing theft provisions to elevate porch piracy to a felony offense with increased penalties (up to 3–5 years in prison and fines up to $15,000). 

Does Your Situation Involve Potential Negligence?

Whether a porch pirate case has legal merit often depends on three key factors: foreseeability of theft, adequacy of security measures, and delivery protocols. Use this logic-based assessment to understand where liability may rest in your specific situation.

Who May Be Liable in a Porch Pirate Case?

Depending on the facts, responsible parties may include:

• Property owners and management companies

• Landlords and homeowners associations

• Retailers that rely on unsecured delivery practices

• Third-party logistics or delivery contractors

• Other entities that ignored known theft patterns or failed to implement basic safeguards

Each case is fact-specific. What matters is whether reasonable steps could have reduced the risk—and whether those steps were ignored.

Why These Cases Matter

Porch piracy isn’t just about lost merchandise. It erodes trust, invites crime into residential spaces, and shifts costs onto consumers who did nothing wrong. When companies and property owners treat theft as “the cost of doing business,” families pay the price.

Our role is to push back against that normalization.

Talk to an Attorney

If you’ve suffered financial loss, injury, or repeated theft tied to unsafe delivery conditions or negligent security, you may have legal options worth exploring.

To discuss a potential porch pirate or package-theft claim, contact Michael Epstein and the team at The Epstein Law Firm for a confidential consultation.

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DISCLAIMER: This automated liability analysis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship.