Klarinet Archive - Posting 000337.txt from 2000/11

From: MVinquist@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Final Chapter, Stolen Bass Clarinet
Date: Mon, 6 Nov 2000 22:02:49 -0500

I don my New York lawyer's hat. Sorry it took so long to look up the law on
this.

The first rule on found property is that the finder has good title against
all the world except the original owner.

The second rule is that the right of the original owner is good against
anyone, no matter how many times the property has been transferred.
Particularly in this case, the rule is that "no one may acquire good title
from a thief." Or the one the thief sold it to.

New York police auctions are of items that are turned in to the police as
lost. The police need a way to get rid of these items (i.e., by auction),
and provided this is done property, the rights of the original owner are cut
off.

However, to act properly, the police are required to search for the owner.
Since David Hattner's instrument had a serial number, and he reported both
the theft and the serial number to the police, there was an easy way to
connect him with the instrument. The failure of the police to do so does not
subject them to liability, but it does undermine the "regularity" of the
auction.

Therefore, even conceding for the moment that Jim bought the horn at the
police auction in good faith and without notice that it was stolen, he still
did not get good title, because the police did not follow the necessary (and
in this case quite simple) procedures.

Also, even a glance at a Selmer low-C bass shows that it's worth far more
than Jim paid for it -- so much more that Jim's good faith is to say the
least questionable.

Believe it or not, most of the time legal rights are the same as "what's
right." My legal opinion (worth what you paid for it) is that a New York
court would order the return of the instrument to Dave Hattner, leaving Jim
with a claim against the police for return of the amount he paid at auction.

Best regards.

Kenneth R. Shaw, Esq.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org