Week 2

Alex finds a watch in an old storage locker that he bought at an auction. Alex later loses the watch, which is found by Bob. Alex sues Bob for return of the watch. Who wins?

Alex wins because he was the prior finder. *Multiple-finder rule: When there's a sequence of finders, the prior finder wins as against subsequent ones.

John, while shopping at a department store, discovers that his watch band just broke. He wants to take it over to the watch counter - which is on the other side of the department store - but he wants to finish his shoe purchase first. As a result, John lays his watch, with the broken band, on a counter near the shoe displays. He intends to grab it when he's done buying the shoes. Frank sees the watch and takes it. Frank looks around for someone to inquire about this lost watch, but John had forgotten to take the watch with him when he left the department store, and the sales clerk said she had never seen the watch before. Mislaid or lost?

Mislaid.

You are helping a friend dig a new garden in your friend's back yard when you find, buried several inches below the surface, an old tin box containing old silver bullion (coins). It turns out these coins are worth $25,000. Who is entitled to the box and the coins?

Probably your friend under the American rule for treasure troves because it was buried in your friend's land.

Tanya loses her watch. Frances finds the watch, but she loses it a week later while playing in the park. Georgia finds the watch in the park. Four days later, Georgia walks into a crowded room, with Frances in it, and announces that she found a watch in the park. Frances gives a description of the watch she lost in the park, and it matches the watch Georgia is holding up. Despite this identification, Georgia doesn't give the watch to Frances. Who should get the watch?

Frances has greater rights to the watch than Georgia.

In year 1, Charles buried $25K in coins and paper money in tin cans and glass jars in his backyard. It was commonly known that Charles did not trust banks and hid money on his property. Charles died in year 12. All his property passed to his son, Ozzie. Ozzie sold the land to David in year 20. Later, David hired Ellison to tear down and replace a garage. In removing the garage, Ellison found the tin cans and glass jars containing the money. Ozzie, David, and Ellison all claim the 25K. Who wins?

Ozzie gets the money. He inherited all of Charles's property, including the money and the land. He is the true owner, and prevails over David, the current landowner, and Ellison the finder. Money and land are separate assets, so David won't win.

Omar collects stamps. A decade or so ago he purchased a set of stamps for $150,000. Last year, Omar donated a dresser to charity. Pete bought the dresser for $30. Pete found the stamps in the dresser and advertised them for sale in a nationally circulated stamp catalog. Omar saw the ad and demanded the stamps be returned to him. Pete refused. Omar sued, and Pete defended based on the law of finders. If you were the judge, how would you rule? Why?

Pete had greater ownership rights against the whole world except the true owner. Once Omar proves he's the true owner, he wins and Pete loses. The sale/donation of the dresser was not a gift of the stamps inside.

What if the finder sells the goods before the owner can stop him?

The money from the Finder's sale stands in place of the goods - legally a constructive trust is created which the true owner has a right to go after.

Alex steals a valuable wristwatch from its true owner and then takes it to Bob's shop for repairs. Charlie sees the watch on Bob's shop counter and sneakily takes it by slipping it into his pocket. Can Alex recover from Bob because he lost the watch?

Yes. Bob was a bailee, so he is strictly liable for any loss or damage to the watch. It doesn't matter that Alex originally stole the watch.

You are helping your friend clean out his pool for the winter. After the water is drained out, you are at the bottom of the pool scrubbing the pool floor, when you see a glimmer coming from the drain area. You go over to the drain area and find a woman's necklace. You know it's not your friend's because he is a live-alone bachelor. You show it to him, and he says he's never seen it before. But a dispute ensues about who gets to sell it and keep the money.

Your friend, who owned the property, has claim to it. Even though he didn't know about the necklace until you found it, it was his private property, so the expectation is that things on it are his. Plus, this might help facilitate the return to the true owner, who may come back looking for it.