Ownership or personal property Flashcards
personal
movable property that is not real estate
tangible
goods- consumer goods, inventory, equipment
quasi tangible
Documents of titles/ reciepts/ bills/ negotiable instruments/ loan agreements/ debts
Intangibles
stocks, investment and deposit accounts, account receivables, insurance receivables, IP
Acquiring interest in chattels
creatiion
capture/ first possession
find
adverse possession
gift
State v Shaw (property right captured animal)
-If fish are in an enclosed space which is private property and where they may be taken at any time and pleasure of the owner, the taking of them with felonious intent will be larceny.
-The law does not require absolute security against the possibility of escape, just that its practically impossible (few fish escaped)
- To acquire property right in animals in nature, pursuer must bring them into his power and control, and so maintain his control as to show that he does not intend to abandon them again to the world at large
ex. - Possession of the owners of the nets was so complete and certain that the defendants went to the nets and raises them with absolute assurance that they could get the fish that were in them.
Rule for Chattel of Property Owner
- rule of capture applies in cases of wild animals ON UNOWNED LAND
- animals (wild or domestic) on private property are the chattels of the property owner (subject to regulation depending on the species)
- Animus Reveretendi ( cattle are an exception to the rule of capture, if they wander onto unowned land they are still the property of the owner because they are deemed likely to return.
Pre Possessory Interest
where an actor undertakes significant but incomplete steps to achieve possession of a piece of abandoned personal property and the effort is interrupted by the unlawful acts of others, the actor has a legally cognizable pre possessory interest in the property. That pre possessory interest constitutes a qualified right to possession, which can support a cause of action for conversion.
Found property
had prior owner
Lost property
Property is lost when the owner unintentionally and involuntarily parts
with it
Mislaid Property
Property is mislaid when the owner voluntarily and knowingly
places it somewhere, but then unintentionally forgets it.
Abandoned Chattels
Property is abandoned when the owner knowingly
relinquishes all right, title, and interest to it.
Treasue Trove
Property is a treasure trove when the owner concealed it in a hidden
location long ago. They are gold, silver, coins, or currency.
Armory v Delamirie
- the finder of a jewel has a superior property interest against all others, except the rightful owner, so the plaintiff had a superior property interest to the defendant.
- P as the finder of the jewel, did not acquire absolute property or ownership by simply finding it, but has right to keep it against everyone but the rightful owner.
- Master is answerable for apprentice’s neglect.
- To determine the value of the jewel they will use the value of the best jewels to determine damages.
Hannah v Peel
- Does the finder (Hannah, the plaintiff) of the brooch have a property interest superior to that of the owner
of the house in which the brooch was found? - YES, because this property was “lost,” and when Hannah found it, he obtained rights superior to all others
except the prior owner (who was not Peel, because Peel did not know the brooch existed).
Property owner right to possession
- A property owner does not necessarily possess everything which is lying unattached (chattel) on the
surface of the land. - Only in the case where a property owner has a manifest intention to exercise control over chattels
attached to land/house will the law deem them to be the property of the landowner.
Bridges v Hawkesworth
landowner would have a better claim to
an item than a finder if the item were found on land from which the owner
intended to exclude others.
South Staffordshire v Sharman
1) an item embedded in
the land belongs to the owner of the land; and
(2) if a finder is an
employee of the owner, she is the owner’s agent, and therefore, the item is
the owners.
Elwes v Brigg Gas
held that a boat, embedded in the soil, was the property of the landowner, regardless of his knowledge or lack thereof.
Limited Title to Finders- Bailee
Bailment: valet parking; dog camp; neighbor borrows your lawnmower (valet, dog
camp company, neighbor– bailee; the owner – the bailor)
A finder (bailee) does not have all of the sticks in the bundle of rights with respect to
found property. It is acting as a temporary holder of the property, for the benefit of the
bailor (the original owner)
Lost v Mislaid v Abandoned Chattels
Lost- finder acquires rights superior to all but the prior owner
Mislaid- finder does not acquire any property rights, but the owner of the place where the item is found must use reasonable care for the safekeeping of the item until the owner is found.
Abandoned- finder acquires full property rights
Bonnichsen v US
Rule- For human remains to be considered Native American under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, substantial evidence must demonstrate a significant relationship between the remains and an extant tribe or group of Native Americans.
