Editing Property Dukeminier/Outline
From wikilawschool.net. Wiki Law School does not provide legal advice. For educational purposes only.
The edit can be undone. Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then publish the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 97: | Line 97: | ||
==Acquisition by Find (p. 103)== | ==Acquisition by Find (p. 103)== | ||
[[Armory v | [[Armory v. Delamire]] (King’s Bench, 1722) – Chimney sweep found a jewel and carried it to defendant’s shop. Defendant’s assistant removed the jewel and offered the boy only the value of the setting that the jewel came in. Court ordered defendant to either return the jewel or pay the boy an amount equal to the value of a jewel of the finest quality that would fit in the setting. When a piece of property is found by an individual, the finder may maintain property rights in the object against all but the true owner or a previous possessor with better title, such as a previous finder.Jus Tertii Defense – Latin for “rights of a third party.” Defense where a party tries to claim the rights of a third party as a defense. In the case above, the defendant tried to assert the rights of the absent true owner of the jewel. As is still common, the court rejected the defense. Generally, courts will demand that a party stand on his/her own rights, and not the rights of a third party.Trover – Common law cause of action for money damages resulting from the defendant’s conversion to his own use of a chattel owned or possessed by plaintiff. Trover is basically obsolete, having been replaced by the tort of conversion.Prior Possessor as Thief – Even if the “finder” is actually a thief (i.e. if plaintiff in Armory had stolen the jewel rather than found it), he still enjoys the same rights over the person who takes the property from him. “Any other rule would lead to an endless series of unlawful seizures and reprisals in every case where property had once passed out of the possession of the rightful owner.” | ||
[[Hannah v. Peel]] (King’s Bench, 1945) – Quartered soldier (Hannah) finds brooch lodged in windowsill of house that he was quartered in. House was owned by Peel, but had never been occupied by him. Hannah turned brooch in to police. Owner was not found, and police subsequently returned it to Peel (rather than Hannah), assumedly because Peel owned the house. Peel offered Hannah a reward for the brooch, but Hannah refused, always maintaining that he had good title in brooch over all but the true owner (who was unknown). Peel sold the brooch. Hannah sued Peel for return of or payment for the brooch, and also for damages for detaining the brooch when Hannah had rightful title. Court found in Hannah’s favor, more or less reasoning that the true owner of the brooch was unknown and therefore the law of finds gave Hannah good title in the brooch against all except the true owner. In finding such, the court also implicitly finds that ownership of real property where an article is located, without more, does not give the real property owner better title over the article than its finder. PER DOLIN: THIS IS A DUMB CASE. THERE WAS NO GOOD OUTCOME SO COURT HAD TO MAKE A CALL. CASE IS DUMB BECAUSE THE COURT DOES NOT SUPPORT ITS DECISION. COURT SHOULD HAVE OUTLINED ITS GOALS IN DECIDING THE CASE AND THEN EXPLAINED WHY THE DECISION IT RENDERED WAS THE BEST MEANS FOR ACHIEVING THE GOALS OUTLINED.NOTE: Despite the poorly reasoned opinion, this case appears to have come out correctly when squared with the general principles regarding mislaid, lost, and abandoned property below. Given the circumstances under which the brooch was found (jammed in the windowsill of an unoccupied house and covered in cobwebs), it is most likely that the brooch would be characterized as lost, if not abandoned. It is highly unlikely that it would have been characterized as mislaid, the only situation of the three that generally awards good title to the owner of the locus in quo. | [[Hannah v. Peel]] (King’s Bench, 1945) – Quartered soldier (Hannah) finds brooch lodged in windowsill of house that he was quartered in. House was owned by Peel, but had never been occupied by him. Hannah turned brooch in to police. Owner was not found, and police subsequently returned it to Peel (rather than Hannah), assumedly because Peel owned the house. Peel offered Hannah a reward for the brooch, but Hannah refused, always maintaining that he had good title in brooch over all but the true owner (who was unknown). Peel sold the brooch. Hannah sued Peel for return of or payment for the brooch, and also for damages for detaining the brooch when Hannah had rightful title. Court found in Hannah’s favor, more or less reasoning that the true owner of the brooch was unknown and therefore the law of finds gave Hannah good title in the brooch against all except the true owner. In finding such, the court also implicitly finds that ownership of real property where an article is located, without more, does not give the real property owner better title over the article than its finder. PER DOLIN: THIS IS A DUMB CASE. THERE WAS NO GOOD OUTCOME SO COURT HAD TO MAKE A CALL. CASE IS DUMB BECAUSE THE COURT DOES NOT SUPPORT ITS DECISION. COURT SHOULD HAVE OUTLINED ITS GOALS IN DECIDING THE CASE AND THEN EXPLAINED WHY THE DECISION IT RENDERED WAS THE BEST MEANS FOR ACHIEVING THE GOALS OUTLINED.NOTE: Despite the poorly reasoned opinion, this case appears to have come out correctly when squared with the general principles regarding mislaid, lost, and abandoned property below. Given the circumstances under which the brooch was found (jammed in the windowsill of an unoccupied house and covered in cobwebs), it is most likely that the brooch would be characterized as lost, if not abandoned. It is highly unlikely that it would have been characterized as mislaid, the only situation of the three that generally awards good title to the owner of the locus in quo. |