When an employee damages our property and then quits, is there any recourse?

Q: “In the spring, an employee was working on a backhoe loading a bin when he pulled up to a concrete wall and tore off the door of the tractor. We could not find a door until last week. It was $275. In the meantime, he decided to quit. He gave two weeks’ notice. When we made his last check, we deducted $275 for the door. He called saying he had talked to a lawyer and we’d better give him a new check with the money back in or else he was going to sue. Can he do this since he owes us a door?" – Mary Ann, Oklahoma