Chapter 29 Flashcards
Personal property
everything that can be owned other than real estate
-tangible and intangible
Tangible personal property
property that has substance and that can be touched, such as a book,
a pair of jeans, or a television set
-also called goods, or chattels
-is movable and includes crops (corn, wheat) and animals (cattle)
Intangible personal property
property that is not perceptible to the senses and cannot be touched
-e.g. accounts receivable and stock certificates
Lost Property
the finder of lost property has a legal responsibility, usually fixed by statute, to make an effort to learn the identity of the owner and return the property to that person
Misplaced property
The finder must be placed with the proprietor of the place where the property is found to be held for the owner.
- When property is found and turned over to state officials, without any claim registered by the finder, the property becomes the property of the state after a period of time set by statute
Abandoned property
- Property that has been discarded by the owner without the intent to reclaim ownership of it.
- Courts require clear and convincing evidence of both the desertion of the property by the owner as well as the owner’s intent not to return to it before
determining that property was indeed abandoned.
Bailment
- The transfer of possession and control of personal property to another with the intent that the same property will be returned later
- In a bailment, neither the bailor nor the bailee intends that title to the property should pass.
- The bailee has an obligation to return the same property to the bailor.
Bailor
the person who transfers the property
Bailee
The person to whom the property is transferred
Burden of Proof
Most courts shift the burden of proof in bailment cases to the one who is in the best position to know what happened - the bailee
- When items in the possession of a bailee are damaged, lost, or stolen, the burden is on the bailee to prove that it was not negligent
Consignment contract
-type of mutual benefit bailment in which the consignor entrusts
goods to the consignee for the purpose of selling them
- In a mutual-benefit bailment, the bailee owes a duty to use
reasonable care.
-Reasonable care means the degree of care that a reasonably
prudent person would use under the same circumstances and
conditions.
-The bailee is responsible for negligence, which is the failure to
use the care that a reasonable person would use under the
same circumstances.
Innkeeper
- the operator of a hotel, motel, or inn that holds itself out to the public as being ready to entertain travelers, strangers, and transient guests.
- innkeepers are considered insurers of their guests’ property except due to: the guest’s own
negligence, acts of God, or accidental fire
Transient
a guest whose length of stay is variable
innkeepers are not liable as insurers in four cases
- Losses caused by a guest’s own negligence.
- Losses to the guest’s property due to acts of God or acts of the public enemy.
- Losses of property due to accidental fire in which no negligence may be attributed to the
innkeeper. - Losses arising out of characteristics of the property that cause its own deterioration
Carriers
businesses that undertake to transport persons, goods, or both
Common carrier
- a carrier that holds itself out to the general public to provide
transportation for compensation - Common carriers of goods are insurers of all goods accepted for
shipment. - They are liable as insurers regardless of whether they have been
negligent.
-Passengers who do not consent to certain required screenings must
be refused transportation (example: FAA rules)
Interstate Commerce Act
states that a carrier is
liable for damages to goods transported by it unless there
is proof that the damage occurs because of one of the
following exceptions:
- Acts of God (e.g., floods, tornadoes, cyclones, earthquakes)
- Acts of the public enemy (wartime, terrorists, and the like)
- Acts of public authorities (police)
- Acts of the shipper
- The inherent nature of the goods (e.g., perishable goods,
evaporating and fermenting liquids, diseased animals)
Warehouser
a person engaged in the business of storing goods for payment
Warehouse
a building or structure in which any goods, but particularly wares or
merchandise, are stored
Warehouse Receipt
a receipt issued by a person engaged in the business of storing goods for hire
Warehouser’s lien
the right to retain possession of the goods until the satisfaction of the
charges imposed on them
