BCOR 3000 Chapter 35 BCOR 3000 Chapter 35 Professor Michael Maciszewski Professor Michael Maciszewski Esquire Esquire December 3 2015 December 3 2015 Agenda Agenda Personal Property and Bailments Personal Property and Bailments 1 1 Introduction Introduction 2 2 Property Ownership Property Ownership 3 3 Acquiring Ownership of Personal Property Acquiring Ownership of Personal Property 4 4 Mislaid Lost and Abandoned Property Mislaid Lost and Abandoned Property 5 5 Bailments Bailments Introduction Introduction Property legally protected rights and interests in anything with an ascertainable value that is subject to ownership Two types of property Real Property land and everything attached to it such as trees and buildings Personal Property also chattel property that is movable i e any property that is not real property Tangible property of physical substance Ex Television car Intangible property without physical substance Ex Stocks and bonds patents and copyrights Property Ownership Property Ownership Ownership of property resembles a bundle of rights Right to possess property and Right to dispose of the property by sale gift lease or other means Single party ownership Fee simple absolute form of property ownership entitling property owner to use possess or dispose of property as she he chooses during her his lifetime upon death interest in property transfers to her heirs Property Ownership cont d d Property Ownership cont Ownership of property resembles a bundle of rights Rights to possess property and to dispose of the property by sale gift lease or other means Concurrent ownership Tenancy in common co ownership in which each party owns an undivided interest in the property Undivided because each tenant has rights in whole property Upon death of a tenant that tenant s interest in the property passes to his or her heirs Ex Han Solo and Lando Calrissian own art collection as tenants in common They each have rights in the entire collection If Han Solo dies before Lando a interest in the collection passes to Han s heirs Property Ownership cont d d Property Ownership cont Ownership of property resembles a bundle of rights Rights to possess property and to dispose of the property by sale gift lease or other means Concurrent ownership Joint tenancy co ownership in which each party owns an undivided portion of the property Upon death of a tenant that tenant s interest in the property passes to the surviving joint tenant Ex Han Solo and Lando Calrissian own art collection in a joint tenancy They each have rights in the entire collection If Han Solo dies before Lando the entire collection passes to Lando Property Ownership cont d d Property Ownership cont Ownership of property resembles a bundle of rights Rights to possess property and to dispose of the property by sale gift lease or other means Concurrent ownership Community property form of concurrent ownership of property in which each spouse owns an undivided interest in property acquired during the marriage Upon divorce community property is divided equally in some states and according to the discretion of the court in other states Acquiring Ownership Acquiring Ownership of Personal Property of Personal Property Most common way of acquiring personal property is by purchasing it by there are other ways By possession Ex find lost or abandoned property to be discussed later Ex capture of wild animals By production Ex writers inventors and manufacturers all produce personal property By confusion co mingling of goods to such an extent that one person s personal property cannot be distinguished from another s Gift voluntary transfer of property made without consideration Inter vivos gift gift made during one s lifetime Causa mortis gift gift made in contemplation of imminent Mislaid Lost and Abandoned Mislaid Lost and Abandoned Property Property Mislaid property property that owner has voluntarily parted with and then has inadvertently forgotten Finder does not obtain title to the mislaid property Considered the caretaker since true owner will likely return Ex You go to a movie theater and leave your iPhone on counter while purchasing popcorn movie theater owner is entrusted with the duty of reasonable care for it until you return to claim it Mislaid Lost and Abandoned Mislaid Lost and Abandoned Property cont d d Property cont Lost property property that is involuntarily left behind by its owner Finder can claim title to the lost property against the whole world except the true owner If the true owner is identified and demands that lost property be returned the finder must return it Many states require finder to make a reasonably diligent search to locate the true owner of the lost property Conversion when finder of lost property knows true owner and fails to return property to him wrongful taking of another s property Estray statutes state statutes which facilitate return of property to true owner and reward finder if property remains unclaimed Make it possible for finders after a specified period of time to acquire legal title to the property they have found Mislaid Lost and Abandoned Mislaid Lost and Abandoned Property cont d d Property cont Abandoned property property that has been discarded by the true owner who has no intention of reclaiming title to it Finder can claim title to the lost property against the whole world including the true owner Ex While Suzie Q is driving on the freeway her valuable designer label scarf blows out the window She retraces her route and searches for the scarf but cannot find it the scarf She finally gives up her search and proceeds to her destination 500 miles away When John Fogerty later finds the scarf he acquires title to By completely giving up her search Suzi Q abandoned the scarf just as effectively as she had intentionally discarded it Bailments Bailments Bailment situation in which the personal property of one person bailor is entrusted to another bailee who is obligated to return the bailed property to the bailor or dispose of it as directed There is no transfer of title Usually formed for a particular purpose e g loan lease store repair or transport the property Bailments cont d d Bailments cont Elements of a bailment 1 Personal property Only personal property not real property real estate Commonly involve tangible items e g jewelry cattle vehicles but can also include intangible items e g promissory notes stocks 2 Delivery of possession without title Bailee must be given exclusive possession