Property I Outline

Property Outline
 
I.                   Acquisition by Find
a.      First, characterize the property found…
                                                               i.      Abandoned:  property to which the true owner has intentionally and voluntarily relinquished the property
1.      mere passage of time is not evidence of abandonment
2.      no matter what the locus in quo is, abandoned property goes to the finder
3.      judging intent of the owner
4.      a trespasser is denied title to abandoned property unless the trespass is trivial or technical
                                                             ii.      Lost: when the owner involuntarily and unintentionally departs with the property
1.      the majority rule is that the finder trumps the locus in quo, even if locus in quo is public or private
2.      the minority rule with private property is that the owner of the locus in quo has constructive possession (Hannah v. Peel)
3.      if an employee finds the property, the employee must surrender to employer if the employee has a contractual duty to report finds (also with abandoned)
4.      trespasser not entitled
5.      in case of landlord/tenant, will go to the landlord
6.      finder on land for limited purpose, will go to the owner (Staffordshire)
                                                            iii.      Mislaid: relinquishment by the owner is voluntarily, but does not intentionally mean to depart with the property indefinitely
1.      in the case of private and public, the property goes to the owner of the locus in quo b/c trying to reunite the true owner with the property
2.      exception to this rule: tenant will keep property in landlord/tenant context b/c tenant is possessor of the property and has the right to the property (against rationale)
b.      Actual possession v. constructive possession:
1.      actual: 1. have to have intent to possession, so have to have knowledge of the existence of the item and 2. have to have actual seizure or holding of the property
2.      constructive: no actual possession, but has the same effect legally- doesn’t have to have actual knowledge of the thing’s possession
c.      Bailment: legitimate possession of personal property by someone who is not the owner of the property; the person who owns it is called the bailor and the non-owner in possession is the bailee
                                                               i.      See Table
d.      Cases
                                                              i.      Armory v. Delamirie: P chimney sweep finds a jewel and takes it to D’s jewelry shop. Apprentice at the shop removes the stones and the boy protests. The court rules in favor of the finder.
1.      general rule: right of finder good against all but the true owner
2.      if the true owner appeared, he would win b/c it wasn’t a voluntary bailment.
3.      even if jewel were stolen, boy would still win against the jeweler
4.      Protection of prior possessors: rationale is 1. to encourage finders to make productive use of their finds rather than hide them