You can sue the person, who took and broke your item, for conversion.  Conversion is the unauthorized assumption and exercise of the right of ownership over goods or personal property belonging to another, to the alteration of its condition or the exclusion of the owner's rights.  Conversion is any unauthorized act which deprives an owner of property permanently or for an indefinite time.Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in a lawsuit for conversion) would be forced sale which means the value of the item.   You can have your friend testify as a witness as to what happened to your personal property. You can file your lawsuit in Small Claims Court. In addition to the $400 value of the item you are claiming as damages in your lawsuit, your damages should also include court costs which would be the court filing fee and process server fee.