Interference with Title

a. Remedy is a request for money damages

b. Plaintiff can sue for the fair market value of the property that has been taken from them if they just had title or the fair market value of the use of the property if they just had possession

c. A conversion action is a forced sale of the property to the D

Recovery of Goods

Remedy is the return of the property

1. Conversion - money damages

2. Replevin - property returned

Cannot see both conversion and replevin, must choose one or the other

1. Wild Animals

a. Capture

b. Escape

2. Abandoned Property

3. Intangible Personalty

(1) Property that was owned by an individual but that individual has “intentionally” relinquished his ownership over the property without any intent to reclaim title

(2) Critical question is 'did the owner intend to abandon it'

(3) Generally, mere passage of time, without more is not sufficient to constitute an abandonment

Intangible Personalty - usually bank accounts & safe deposit boxes

- IL adopted the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act which states

a. A person who possesses property, even with no right to it, has greater title than anyone else does in the world except:

1) The true owner; and 2) Any prior possessors who did not abandon their rights to possession

b. When a question arises as to who has better possession:

1) Look at every prior possessor and ask whether they intended to abandon

(a) If yes: the person currently possessing is out of the chain

(b) If no: the person currently in possession stays in the chain of title and is a better possessor than anyone after him

2) The first possessor who has not abandoned his or her possessory rights has the right to possession

1. Lost Property

2. Mislaid Property

3. Treasure

4. Buried Chattel

5. Converters and Bona Fide Purchasers

6. Employer and Employee

7. Theives or Bad Actors

a. Entrustment Rule

- Occurs when a person accidentally or involuntarily loses possession or property

- When lost property is found, the finder will have best possession of the property against everyone in the world except the true owner

- There are two exceptions to this rule:

1) If lost property is found on someone else’s property by a trespasser, not by the landowner, the trespasser cannot acquire rights to possession so the landowner will be considered the possessor of the property

2) If the chattel is found in a highly private place, the property will go to the owner of the private place, not the finder

a) Property that was intentionally put somewhere but the owner forgot where it was put

b) Until reclaimed by the true owner, the right of possession falls to the owner of the site; the finder does not get possession, the owner of the property does

a) Treasure trove: gold, silver, jewels or money hidden for safe-keeping in a secret location by an unknown owner

b) The modern rule: possession goes to the owner of the land, not the finder as treasure trove is not lost property

a) When an item is found by an employee in the course of employment the employee is not the finder, the employer is the finder

b) As the employee is an agent of the employer, any property found by an employee during the course of his or her employment belongs to the employer

Thieves or other bad actors who take personal property can gain possession but can never acquire good title and cannot transfer good title b/c he does not have good title to transfer

a) Where the seller is a bad actor, the buyer only gets possession b/c that is all the seller had; the seller has better possession than the buyer b/c he had possession first as the thief

Entrustment Rule: A merchant in the ordinary course of business selling an item that is customarily sold in that business, even though the item is being held by a merchant for someone else, the purchaser gets good title – this is the UCC exception to the general rule; the original owner has the remedy of conversion and gets the fair market value or the sale price for the watch, generally whichever is higher

a. Actual possession: you are true owner and have actual possession

b. Hostile or Adverse: against the owner’s permission

c. Open and Notorious ownership:

1) Actually knows the other person has possession; or

2) There are facts that could have made it known who possessed the property if the owner had made a diligent search to find them

d. Must have exclusive possession

e. Must hold possession in this manner continuously under the statutory period; 5 years for personal property; tacking may apply

- Adverse Possession of Borrowed Items:could occur where original possession is permissive, but no attempt made to recover it, and the possessor can claim period for adverse possession has started to run

Accession: an innocent possessor of property, unaware that it belongs to someone else, acquires title by extending labor or adding material to the property to either substantially improve it or change the character of the personal property

a. Can never be gained by a thief or willful converter

Confusion: Only occurs with fungible goods

a. If fungible goods have been intermixed or intermingled, and there has been consent to intermingle, innocent mistake or accident, the owners are tenants in common  and each then owns his proportional interest equal to his contribution

Wrongful Act: Someone who unlawfully commingled goods must actually prove what he put in or he lose his entire interest

- Voluntary transfers of property by one person to another

- Requires three elements: 1) Present donative intent; 2) Delivery of the property (actual, constructive/symbolic, agent); 3) Acceptance-presumed by right to refuse; Burden of proof on person asserting gift

- In IL, a transfer from parent to child and adding another person to joint tenancy are presumptively gifts

- Conditional Gifts: are irrevocable with exception of causa mortis gifts; if donor dies gift is completed; must die based on the expected or feared cause of death; if donor does not die, gift back to donor's estate

- Donor Agent: not presumed deilvered until delivery made; revocable

- Donee Agent: presumed deivery; no control over agent; irrevocable

Occurs when one person has possession of another person’s property

Created when a bailor transfers property to the bailee; bailee must know about the bailment and accept the property

Disclaiming Bailment: restaurants and parking lots; signs disclaiming liability are insufficient to disclaim liability unless contracted away

Liability: determined by whether the person who takes possession has control over the property

Concealed Property: A bailee cannot be responsible for concealed property of unusual value

Rights Against Bailee: bailor to get his property returned at the end of the bailment

- Bailor's cause of action against the bailee:

1) Conversion or 2) Replevin

Rights By or Against Third Parties: cause of action against a third party that damaged the property while it is still in the hands of the bailee

Mis-Delivery: A warehouseman who is a bailee may have a lawful defense against anyone claiming the property was mis-delivered as long as he can show someone presented him the proper receipt for the goods when they picked up the goods

Bailee Negligence: bailor not responsible for negligence of bailee

Right to Possession and Incidental Use: right to exclusive possession during bailment; may only use goods for purpose contemplated

Causes of of Action: As a bailee is a proper possessor, the bailee may sue a third party for:

(a) Interference with the possession

(b) Destruction of the goods that negatively impact him

(c) Replevin of the goods if the property is taken

Cause of Action against Bailor: wrongful possession if contracted rights

Bailee’s creditors: creditors have no right to the property; similarly if a bailee dies, the property does not go to the heirs, it goes back to the bailor

1. Duty of Care: Standard depends on natuer of bailment

a. Gratuitous Bailment: slight duty

b. Mutually Beneficial Bailment: ordinary negligence

c. Breach of Contract for Bailment: liable if terms are breached

d. Warehouse: reasonable careful man standard

e. Bailment for sole benefit of Bailee: greatest duty of care

f. Common Carrier: insurer of goods

2. Duty of Delivery: mis-delivery not defense even to someone with proof of title

3. Limitation of Liability: baille cannot completely excupate from liability; held to the applicable duty of care