Chapter 47 Personal Property and Bailment

Personal Property  Real property: Land and property permanently attached to it  Buildings, fixtures, trees, soil, minerals, timber, and plants  Personal property: Property that is not real property  Fixture: Personal property that is permanently affixed to land or buildings 2

Personal Property  Types of personal property:  Tangible property: All real property and physically defined personal property, such as buildings, goods, animals, and minerals  Intangible property: Rights that cannot be reduced to physical form, such as stock certificates, certificates of deposit, bonds, and copyrights 3

Ownership of Personal Property  Minimum formality required to transfer or acquire ownership  Methods of acquiring ownership:  Possession or capture  Purchase  Production 4

Ownership of Personal Property  Gift: Voluntary transfer of title to property without payment of consideration by the donee  Donor: A person who gives a gift  Donee: A person who gives a gift  Elements of a valid gift:  Donative intent  Delivery  Acceptance 5

Ownership of Personal Property  Types of gift:  Gift inter vivos: A gift made during a person’s lifetime that is an irrevocable present transfer of ownership  Gift causa mortis: A gift that is made in contemplation of death 6

Ownership of Personal Property  Uniform Gifts to Minors Act and Uniform Transfers to Minors Act: Establish procedures for adults to make gifts of money and securities to minors  Accession: Increase in the value of personal property - added to or improved by natural or manufactured means  Confusion: If fungible goods are commingled, the owners share title in proportion to the amount of goods contributed 7

Mislaid, Lost, and Abandoned Personal Property  Mislaid property: Property that an owner voluntarily places somewhere and then inadvertently forgets  Lost property: Property that the owner leaves somewhere due to negligence, carelessness, or inadvertence 8

Mislaid, Lost, and Abandoned Personal Property  Estray statute: A statute that permits a finder of mislaid or lost property to clear title to the property if certain prescribed legal formalities are met  Abandoned property: Property that an owner has discarded with the intent to relinquish his or her rights in it and mislaid or lost property that the owner has given up any further attempts to locate 9

Bailment  Bailment: A transaction in which an owner transfers his or her personal property to another to be held, stored, or delivered, or for some other purpose  Title to the property does not transfer  Bailor: The owner of property in a bailment  Bailee: A holder of goods who is not a seller or a buyer 10

Exhibit Bailment 11

Bailment  Elements necessary to create a bailment:  Bailment of personal property: Only personal property can be bailed  Delivery of possession:  The bailee has exclusive control over the personal property  The bailee must knowingly accept the personal property  Bailment agreement 12

Ordinary Bailments  Three types:  Bailments for the sole benefit of the bailor: Gratuitous bailment that benefits only the bailor  Duty of slight care: Duty owed by a bailee not to be grossly negligent in caring for the bailed goods 13

Ordinary Bailments  Bailments for the sole benefit of the bailee: Benefits only the bailee  Duty of great care: Duty owed by a bailee not to be slightly negligent in caring for the bailed goods  Mutual benefit bailment: A bailment for the mutual benefit of the bailor and bailee  Duty of reasonable care: Duty owed by a bailee not to be ordinarily negligent in caring for the bailed goods 14

Duration and Termination of Bailments  Bailment for fixed term: A bailment that terminates at the end of the term or sooner by mutual consent of the parties  Bailment at will: A bailment without a fixer term; can be terminated at any time by either party 15

Special Bailments  Warehouse company: Engaged in the business of storing personal property for compensation  Warehouse receipt: A document of title issued by a warehouse company stating that the bailor has title to the bailed goods  Common carrier: Companies that offer transportation services to the public, such as airlines, railroads, and trucking firms  Consignor (shipper): A person shipping goods 16

Special Bailments  Consignee: A person to whom bailed goods are to be delivered  Duty of strict liability of a common carrier: Duty owed by a common carrier whereby if the bailed goods are lost, damaged, destroyed, or stolen, the common carrier is liable even if the loss or damage was not its fault  Bill of lading: A document of title issued by a common carrier stating that the bailor has title to the bailed goods 17

Exhibit 47.2 – Common Carrier Consignment 18

Special Bailments  Innkeeper: The owner of a facility that provides lodging to the public for compensation  Duty of strict liability of an innkeeper: A common law rule that makes innkeepers strictly liable to transient guests for personal property that is lost or stolen from the innkeeper’s premises even if the loss was not the innkeeper’s fault 19

Special Bailments  Innkeepers’ statutes: State statutes that limit an innkeeper’s common law liability  An innkeeper can avoid liability for loss caused to a guest’s property if:  A safe is provided in which the guest’s valuable property may be kept  The guest is notified of this fact 20

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