Klarinet Archive - Posting 000354.txt from 2000/11

From: alevin@-----. Levin)
Subj: Re: [kl] Final Chapter, Stolen Bass Clarinet
Date: Tue, 7 Nov 2000 14:35:28 -0500

Well said. Well summarized.
At 10:02 PM 11/6/00 EST, you wrote:
>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.
>
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