Jackson v. Steinberg

2 Citing cases

  1. Favorite v. Miller

    176 Conn. 310 (Conn. 1978)   Cited 75 times
    In Favorite v. Miller, 176 Conn. 310; 407 A.2d 974 (1978), the court considered the rights of a defendant who knowingly trespassed upon the plaintiff's land to recover a piece of the historic statute of King George III. With the aid of a metal detector the defendant located the relic which was found buried ten inches beneath the surface of plaintiff's soil. At trial, defendant argued that because his efforts led to the discovery of an artifact of great historical value, his actions should be encouraged and therefore rewarded.

    Typically, if the property was found to be "lost" or "abandoned," the finder would prevail, whereas if the property was characterized as "mislaid," the owner or occupier of the land would prevail. Lost property has traditionally been defined as involving an involuntary parting, i.e., where there is no intent on the part of the loser to part with the ownership of the property Foster v. Fidelity Safe Deposit Co., 264 Mo. 89, 174 S.W. 376 (1915); Kuykendall v. Fisher, 61 W. Va. 87, 56 S.E. 48 (1906); 1 Am.Jur.2d 4, Abandoned, Lost, and Unclaimed Property 2; annot., 170 A.L.R. 706. Abandonment, in turn, has been defined as the voluntary relinquishment of ownership of property without reference to any particular person or purpose; Ellis v. Brown, 177 F.2d 677 (6th Cir. 1949); Jackson v. Steinberg, 186 Or. 129, 200 P.2d 376 (1948), rehearing denied, 186 Or. 129, 205 P.2d 562 (1949); annot., 170 A.L.R. 708; i.e., a "throwing away" of the property concerned; Foulke v. New York Consolidated R. Co., 228 N.Y. 269, 273, 127 N.E. 237 (1920); while mislaid property is defined as that which is intentionally placed by the owner where he can obtain custody of it, but afterwards forgotten. Foster v. Fidelity Safe Deposit Co., supra; Loucks v. Gallogly, 1 Misc. 22, 23 N.Y.S. 126 (1892); annot., 9 A.L.R. 1388, 1390.

  2. Bergeron v. Aero Sales, Inc.

    205 Or. App. 257 (Or. Ct. App. 2006)   Cited 9 times

    The fuel was not a "treasure trove" — and hence the property of the finder — because it was not "[m]oney or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden in the earth or other private place, the owner thereof being unknown." Jackson v. Steinberg, 186 Or 129, 134, 200 P2d 376 (1948), reh'g den, 186 Or 129, 205 P2d 562 (1949) (internal quotation marks omitted). Kasper had not abandoned the property, for there was no evidence that he intended to relinquish ownership of the fuel.