Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property

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Property law
Part of the common law series
Acquisition of property
Gift  · Adverse possession  · Deed
Lost, mislaid, or abandoned
Treasure trove
Alienation  · Bailment  · License
Estates in land
Allodial title  · Fee simple  · Fee tail
Life estate  · Defeasible estate
Future interest  · Concurrent estate
Leasehold estate  · Condominiums
Conveyancing of interests in land
Bona fide purchaser
Torrens title  · Strata title
Estoppel by deed  · Quitclaim deed
Mortgage  · Equitable conversion
Action to quiet title
Limiting control over future use
Restraint on alienation
Rule against perpetuities
Rule in Shelley's Case
Doctrine of worthier title
Nonpossessory interest in land
Easement  · Profit
Covenant running with the land
Equitable servitude
Related topics
Fixtures  · Waste  · Partition
Riparian water rights
Lateral and subjacent support
Assignment  · Nemo dat
Other areas of the common law
Contract law  · Tort law
Wills and trusts
Criminal Law  · Evidence
Maui Police Department Sticker affixed to Abandoned Cars.
Maui Police Department Sticker affixed to Abandoned Cars.

In the common law of property, personal belongings that have left the possession of their rightful owners without having directly entered the possession of another person are deemed to be lost, mislaid, or abandoned, depending on the circumstances under which they were found by the next party to come into possession of them. The rights of a finder of such property are determined in part by the status in which it is found. Because these classifications have developed under the ancient and often archaic common law of England, they turn on fine and nuanced distinctions.

Contents

[edit] Lost property

Property is generally deemed to have been lost if it is found in a place where the true owner likely did not intend to set it down, and where it is not likely to be found by the true owner. At common law, the finder of a lost item could claim the right to possess the item against any other person in the world except the true owner. See Armory v. Delamirie, 1 Strange 505 (King’s Bench, 1722).

Bear in mind that the underlying policy goals to these distinctions are to (hopefully) see that the property is returned to its true original owner, or "title owner." Most jurisdictions have now enacted statutes requiring that the finder of lost property must turn it in to the proper authorities; if the true owner does not arrive to claim the property within a certain period of time, the property is returned to the finder as his own.[citation needed] In Britain, many public businesses have a lost property desk, which in the United States would be called a lost and found.

There are a litany of often confusing common law exceptions to the rule that the first finder of lost property has a superior claim of right over any other person in the world except the true original owner. For example, as a general exception, trespassers will usually lose superior claim to any lost property they find in the course of their trespassing to the respective landowner. As a corollary to this exception, landowners have superior claim over all finds made within the non-public areas of their property. For example, if a customer finds lost property in the public area of a store, the customer has superior claim to the lost property over that of the store-owner, but if the customer finds the lost property in the non-public area of that store, such in an area marked "Employees Only," the store-owner will have superior claim, as the customer was trespassing when he found it.

The status of finders as employees or tenants of the landowner complicates matters, because employees and tenants have legitimate access to non-public areas of a landowner's property that others would not, without trespassing. Employees and tenants, however, still usually lose superior claim over lost property to their employers or landlords, if the property is found within the scope of their employment, or outside the actual leased area, respectively. For example, if the lost property is found by a tenant inside the walls of their leasehold, or by an employee embedded within the soil of an estate owned by their employer, the landowner (as employer or landlord) of the property where it was found usually has a superior claim of right over that of the finder. However, this is not always the case, as a long-term tenant who finds lost property within the leased area of his leasehold may have a superior claim over that of his landlord (especially if the landlord has never been to property). While employers usually have a superior claim over lost property found by their employees, exceptions to this exists as well, as modern law sometimes grants the employee superior claim if turning over lost property to their employer is not part of their job description (such as if the employee is an interior decorator). Erickson v. Sinykin, 26 N.W.2d 172 (Minn. 1947).

[edit] Mislaid property

Property is generally deemed to have been mislaid (some courts refer to it as misplaced) if it is found in a place where the true owner likely did intend to set it, but then simply forgot to pick it up again. For example, a wallet found in a shop lying on a counter near a cash register will likely be deemed misplaced rather than lost. Under common law principles, the finder of a misplaced object has a duty to turn it over to the owner of the premises, on the theory that the true owner is likely to return to that location to search for his misplaced item. If the true owner never shows up, the property becomes that of the owner of the premises. See McAvoy v. Medina, 93 Mass. (11 Allen) 548, (1866).

[edit] Treasure trove

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Main article: Treasure trove

Treasure trove is property that consists of coins or currency hidden by the owner. To be considered treasure trove and not mislaid property, the property must have been deliberately hidden or concealed, and sufficiently long ago that the original owner can be considered dead or not discoverable. For example, under English law, 100 Roman coins found buried in a chest would be treasure trove; however, 100 Roman coins which were lost over time in a marketplace would not be treasure trove, as they were not deliberately hidden as a single hoard.

Under American common law, treasure trove belongs to the finder, unless the original owner reclaims. Some states have rejected the American common law and hold that treasure trove belongs to the owner of the property in which the treasure trove was found. These courts reason that the American common law rule encourages trespass.

Under the traditional English common law, treasure trove belongs to the Crown, though the finder is paid a reward.

[edit] Abandoned property

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Property is generally deemed to have been abandoned if it is found in a place where the true owner likely intended to leave it, but is in such a condition that it is apparent that the true owner has no intention of returning to claim the item. Abandoned property generally becomes the property of whoever should find it and take possession of it first, although some states have enacted statutes under which certain kinds of abandoned property — usually cars and wrecked ships and aircraft — become the property of the state. See Eads v. Brazelton, 22 Ark. 499 (Ark. 1861).

[edit] Recent developments

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In the United States, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws sought to address the problems arising from these types of property through provisions of the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. The act was first drafted and promulgated in 1981, and was revised in 1995. The act specifically focuses on the problem of unclaimed money in bank accounts and corporate coffers, and the escheatment thereof.

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[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Look up lost property in
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Look up mislaid property in
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Look up abandoned property in
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