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4. Finders (previously-owned property)
I. RULE: Original owner rights maintains rights, and first finder has rights before subsequent finders. A. Owner does not lose title by losing the property. The owner’s rights persist even though the article has been lost or mislaid. B. First finder does not have absolute property rights, but has superior rights to everyone but the true owner; however, there are important exceptions. C. Priority of Property Rights – True Owner > Possessor (finder or even a thief) > Subsequent Possessor 1. Armory v. Delamirie: chimney sweep (∏) found a jewel and took it to a jeweler (∆) to have it appraised. ∆ refused to give it back to ∏, saying ∏ did not own it. Court: found for ∏. ∏ is entitled to recover either the jewel (replevin) or the full money value of the jewel (trover). D. Policy of giving rights to first finder 1. Prevents self-help and violence (keeps the peace). 2. Prevents endless string of wrongful takers. Might encourage people to take property. 3. Rewards honesty and thus discourages lying (of first finder claiming he is the owner) so that owner might get the property back. 4. Economic: encourages productivity of people finding property, of people not hiding property they find in fear that someone else will take it from them, and not over-invest in security measures. 5. Protects ∏ expectations. 6. Easy to administer.
1. Mislaid: intentionally placed and forgotten à property owner 2. Lost: involuntarily left some place à finder 3. Abandoned: relinquished with no intention of claiming à finder
II. RULE: Object that is lost article goes to finder (entitled to it against all persons except the real owner). A. Bridges v. Hawksworth: ∏ picked up parcel containing bank notes on storeowner (∆) floor. ∏ asked ∆ to find the owner of the object, but that original owner was not found. Court: granted possession to ∏. B. Policy 1. This involves public property, rather than private property such as person’s home. III. RULE: Object that is mislaid goes to the owner of the premises. Object that is mislaid goes to finder. A. Mislaid property is property intentionally placed somewhere and then forgotten. It is likely that the true owner will later remember where they placed their property and return to the premises to reclaim it. B. Difficulty: hard for court determine whether property is mislaid or lost. C. McAvoy v. Medina: finds pocket book on table in barber shop. Court: granted possession to shop owner. IV. RULE: Object that is abandoned goes to the finder. V. RULE: Possessor of land is generally entitled, as against the finder, to chattels found on the land (anything “attached to it”). A. South Staffordshire Water Co. Sharman: pool cleaner (∆) found rings on bottom of house owner’s pool (∏). Court: granted possession to ∏. B. Policy 1. Finder is only on property for limited purpose, at direction of home owner. 2. Protect expectations: home owner expects that their land and all the items on it, under it, embedded in it, belong to them. VI. RULE: When owner is not in possession of house, property found in house may be awarded to finder. A. Hannah v. Peel: ∏ was freeholder of house, though had never occupied it. It was requisitioned by military for use as quarters. ∆ was using the quarters and found a brooch in a hidden place (windowsill). ∆ took brooch to commanding officer who turned over to police. Police could not find the owner, and so returned it to ∏. Court: granted possession to ∆. 1. Relies on Bridges v. Hawkesworth 2. Distinguishes South Staffordshire Water Co. Sharman B. Competing policies 1. Protect landowner expectations 2. Encourage meritorious behavior of finder
Suggestions for reforming the law 1. Division in time: rules are all-or-nothing (all to finder or all to landowner). Give to landowner for x months, and if not claimed, give to finder. 2. Division of value: sell and divide the proceeds, or have one pay ½ price to the other.
5. Adverse Possession
I. General definition: A person who goes on to land and possess it in certain ways for certain length of time (statute of limitations) is no longer trespasser but becomes owner of the land and gets title. II. Requirements A. Actual entry giving exclusive possession 1. Purpose: to trigger the cause of action. This starts the statute of limitations running and shows the extent of the claim. 2. Constructive possession: entry on part of the land described in a deed by the possessor may potentially be deemed possession of all of the land. 3. Exclusive possession: adverse possessor must not be sharing possession with the owner nor with the public. a. Exception: two or more persons acting in concert may make a claim of adverse possession as tenants in common. B. Open and notorious possession 1. Must occupy in open, notorious, and visible manner. 2. Must give reasonable notice to the owner that she is claiming dominion, so that the owner can defend his rights. a. Must be typical acts of a person who owns property such that the community, observing them, would infer ownership. b. Must be appropriate to the condition, size and locality of the land. c. Actual notice not required. d. Exception: actual notice may be required in situations in which requiring title holder’s knowledge of encroachment would be undue burden. Mannillo v. Gorski: in determining damages, court was to take into account that requiring land owner’s knowledge would require nearly continuous land surveying. 3. Some states require specific actions for “open and notorious” (Van Valkenburg v. Lutz: case concerning triangle plot of land). a. Rule: if claimant does not enter property with color of title, adverse possession can only be claimed where the land 1) “has been protected by substantial enclosure” OR 2) has been “usually cultivated or improved.” b. Policy: specific standards allow the state to rule on cases of adverse possession more easily. C. Continuous use 1. Must be continuous insofar as owner would use (compatible with use of land) a. E.g.: could be beach house and only go in summer b. BUT sporadic is not continuous 2. Policy a. Give notice over time b. Put land to best economic use c. Avoid potential for several trespassers D. Without owners’ consent (adverse) 1. Objective test (majority): state of mind of adverse possessor is not important. Only the actions of the possessor are important. If his actions appear to the community to be a claim of ownership and he is not holding with the permission of the owner, the possessor is holding under a claim of right. a. Mannillo v. Gorski: ∆ made improvements on his house, and encroached over ∏ property by 15”. Here, although ∆ did not intend to adversely possess, his actions gave notice and that is sufficient. b. Policy 1. Requiring hostility seems to promote hostility and disfavor an honest, mistaken entrant. 2. No subjective consideration and no difficulty of recalling state of mind after a long period of time. 2. Subjective test (minority): adverse possessor must have a bona fide or good faith belief that he has title. He must not know that someone else has title, or his possession is not adverse. III. Policy A. Economic: put land to best use. B. Quiet title and secure someone’s title to the property (between competing claims. C. Bring certainty after certain period of time (statute of limitations). D. Bar stale claims: keep within time period so people can remember what has happened over time. E. Reward productivity of occupiers. F. Punish landowners who do not use land productively and sleep on their rights (statute of limitations concept) G. Holmes – occupiers setting down roots after being on land after that period of time. This prevents them from being severed from their roots (becomes a part of their personality). H. Occupiers’ expectations: would be unfair to then kick them off. IV. Potential remedies A. Allow adverse possession to continue B. Argue against adverse possession C. Allow owner to buy rights back from possessor D. Allow adverse possessor to buy rights from owner a. This makes sense in cases in which there is small encroachment but huge cost to remove (Mannillo v. Gorski). V. Mistaken improver specifically A. Traditional law: Landowner may force improver to remove the structure B. Modern law: a good faith improver gets some relief. Improver must pay damages to landowner, but may be allowed to maintain improvement. Or Court may give building to landowner but force him to pay the improver for the improvement. C. Intentional encroachment: if person knowingly encroaches on her neighbor’s lot, the person must remove the encroachment if the neighbor so demands. D. Continuous, uninterrupted possession 1. Possession must be continuous through the statutory period.
Statute of Frauds: conveyance of land must be done in writing (by deed). Deed is document that is traditionally used to convey land.
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