Armory v. Delamirie
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Armory v. Delamirie (1722) K.B., 1 Strange 525, 93 ER 664, is a famous English case on personal property law and finder's rights. It is one of the first cases that establishes possession as a valuable property right and as evidence of ownership.
[edit] Background
Armory is a chimney sweeper's boy who finds a jewel. He takes the jewel to Delamirie, a goldsmith's apprentice to get it valued. Delamirie removes the gems from the jewel while pretending to weigh it, he tells Armory that it's worth three halfpence. Delamirie offered to pay him for it but Armory refused and asked Delamirie to return it. Delamirie returned it without the gems. Armory brought an action against Delamirie in Trover.
[edit] Ruling
The issue before the court was whether either party had any property rights to the jewel.
Though neither was the true owner, the Court held that both Armory and Delamirie had property rights in the jewel. They each have a right to possession that is enforceable against everyone except those with a greater right to the possession. The true owner of the jewel was not relevant, the Court was only concerned with who had a better right to possession. The priority of rights to possession say that a finder has better title to property that he or she finds over everyone except the true owner, thus Armory had full title to the jewel. The Court found in favour of Armory. Since the jewel was not produced at the trial, Armory was awarded the maximum value that a jewel of that form could be.
