Legalese Explained: Finders, Keepers, Or How A Thief Can Sue To Get Back The Stuff He Stole
DISCLAIMER: The following is intended for reference only, and not as legal advice.
If you own it, it's yours. But what if you found it, or even stole it? Believe it or not, this is the way the law works in most states:
(i) I find a wallet on the street, and you steal it from me. As you might expect, my legal right to the wallet is superior to yours, even though I will have to give it back to the owner if he can be identified.
(ii) I find a wallet on the street, lose it, and then you find it. I can demand the wallet back from you, even though it's not mine, and I can even sue to get it back.
(iii) I steal a wallet, and then you steal it from me. I can demand the wallet back from you even though I stole it (as long as you're not the owner of the wallet), because since I stole it first, my right to the wallet is superior to yours (I'm not kidding here!).
(iv) I steal a wallet, lose it, and you find it. I can sue you to get it back as long as you're not the owner of the wallet. Although it sounds unfair, I might need the wallet in order to return it to the owner if I get caught.
Although some states have modified the above rules, they are intact in most states.
The law gets a bit hairier if I find something on your property. Believe it or not, it's not necessarily yours. A court will take a lot of factors into account:
- Why was I on the property? If I was a trespasser, an employee or, for example, a mailman, then my claim is weaker than if I was a guest. That is why it is harder for a housekeeper to keep stuff he finds in a hotel room.
- What type of property was the item found on? If I found something in your attic, I would have a weaker claim than if I had found it in a nightclub (because it's open to the public).
- Where did I find the item? If it was buried underground then it usually belongs to the landowner (unless it was buried on purpose)
- How did the goods get there? If the property was a public place and the item I found was lost or abandoned by a guest, I've got a better chance of keeping it. But if it was left there intentionally by a guest who failed to return to pick it up (a jacket at a coat chack, for instance), then it woud likely belong to the owner.
Keep in mind that the above are traditional rules that can and have been modified by the laws of many states, so check with an attorney if you find something and are not sure whether it's yours or not.
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