Klarinet Archive - Posting 001534.txt from 2000/10

From: Sherry Katz <slkatz@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Legal situation re Bass Clarinet
Date: Tue, 31 Oct 2000 10:39:21 -0500

on 10/30/00 4:28 PM, Tony Pay at Tony@-----.uk wrote:

> I rejoined the list in time to hear about Hat's difficulty with his
> stolen bass clarinet. I do hope it gets resolved, for his and
> everyone's sake.
>
> Now obviously, a clarification of the legal situation in which he finds
> himself would be helpful -- and I know that there are some people here
> who have at least a degree of professional legal expertise.
>
> On the other hand, there is a silence from the lawyers here over Hat's
> problem -- though, noticebly, not over other things.
>
> Now, I'm not so naive as not to know some of the reasons why that might
> be so. (And perhaps they're all just busy.)
>
> But I still have to laugh.
>
---
Tony,

I'm a lawyer and I appreciate the contribution that you make to this list.
I rarely post because, while I play the clarinet, I don't usually have much
to add here.

I didn't post on this legal issue, and I'm sure some of the other lawyers
here didn't because it's not an issue that I encounter in my daily life, and
my opinion on it, even though I'm a lawyer isn't worth much more than yours
or any other random persons.

Property issues like this one are very much a matter of local law and I'm a
California lawyer, not a New York one. In addition, everyone studies
general principles of Real Property in law school, but personal property
issues get brushed over. I don't have access to New York law books unless I
were to drive 30 miles to get to the county law library downtown, and most
lawyers would not have access to laws outside their jurisdiction unless they
are near a large law library or work in a large firm.

I am the General Counsel to a publishing company and in my job I deal with
issues of copyright, trademark, antitrust, unfair trade, employment law,
real property (commercial leases), securities law, corporate law and tax
law. When people have asked copyright questions I've answered them. I'll
note that even when I've given the right answer a lot of speculative palaver
- much of it wrong - has followed (I don't remember honestly if it has been
this list or another where this has gone on).

It seems to me that someone did post here yesterday, said they were a
lawyer. That person said that the guy that bought the clarinet was a holder
in due course (and legally entitled to it) unless he had notice it was
stolen - which he did. That sounded like a pretty good answer to me, but I
don't really know the law in New York - maybe there's a statute that covers
this. As far as what can be done to recover the horn - again that's a
matter for a local lawyer.

There is nothing to be read into the lack of response from attorneys on this
list. I, for one, am simply not competent to answer this. Unless someone
here is a general practitioner in New York who deals in stolen property
issues, there probably aren't too many other lawyers on this list who would
feel competent to jump in either.

Sherry Katz

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