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host · 01-07-2008, 10:15 PM

Thiw was posted in the comments section, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/13/eveningnews/main3617369.shtml#ccmm">here...</a>

..."To be considered treasure trove and not mislaid property, the property must have been deliberately hidden or concealed, and sufficiently long ago that the original owner can be considered dead or not discoverable.

Under the common law (including the common law of Ohio), treasure trove belongs to the finder, unless the original owner reclaims. Some states (but not Ohio) have rejected the common law and hold that treasure trove belongs to the owner of the property in which the treasure trove was found. These courts reason that the common law rule encourages trespass.

Here, since the contractor in this case was not trespassing when he found the loot, the policy considerations that have led some courts to reject the treaure trove law would not apply. Furthermore, if simply purchasing the house was enough to aquire title, why wouldn''t everyone who has owned the house since Dunne died be entitled to a share? Why, in fact, would the hidden money stash, not go to the bank that holds the mortgage?

The Dunne heirs, if any, have the best claim, though they will have to prove that he hid it. That''s what the evidence suggests (his name was on the wrapping), but of course we can never really be sure. In any event, the entitlement runs as follows: (i) Dunne; (ii) Kitts; (iii) Reece."

It may not seem fair to those who believe a purchaser of a property who cedes the title to said property as collateral to secure a mortgage loan, is "the owner", or that the most recent purchaser also purchases all rights and liabilities associated with the property, but it seems to make sense to me.

Say you purchased a property in an estate sale, the former owner is deceased; and 18 months after your purchase, a pollutant found in drinking water wells on several nerighboring properties is traced back to a buried liquid waste pit on the property you purchased. Should liability for cleanup costs now all be on you, because you are now the owner? The defense of the estate that you purchased the property from is that it acted in good faith, not knowing that the deceased former owner was burying liquid toxins in a now covered over pit.

Are only "good", undisclosed and later discovered "things" on a property you've purchased, yours by simple discovery? Say that the damage from the toxic waste in the above example, includes injury and medical expenses of neighbors who unknowingly drank polluted well water for several years. The dollar amount of the liability exceeds the value of the estate you purchased the property from. Were those named to inherit the proceeds of the sale of the property you paid, now, instead, liable for damages, along with you, or instead of you?

01-07-2008, 10:15 PM	#19 (permalink)
host Banned	Thiw was posted in the comments section, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/13/eveningnews/main3617369.shtml#ccmm">here...</a> ..."To be considered treasure trove and not mislaid property, the property must have been deliberately hidden or concealed, and sufficiently long ago that the original owner can be considered dead or not discoverable. Under the common law (including the common law of Ohio), treasure trove belongs to the finder, unless the original owner reclaims. Some states (but not Ohio) have rejected the common law and hold that treasure trove belongs to the owner of the property in which the treasure trove was found. These courts reason that the common law rule encourages trespass. Here, since the contractor in this case was not trespassing when he found the loot, the policy considerations that have led some courts to reject the treaure trove law would not apply. Furthermore, if simply purchasing the house was enough to aquire title, why wouldn''t everyone who has owned the house since Dunne died be entitled to a share? Why, in fact, would the hidden money stash, not go to the bank that holds the mortgage? The Dunne heirs, if any, have the best claim, though they will have to prove that he hid it. That''s what the evidence suggests (his name was on the wrapping), but of course we can never really be sure. In any event, the entitlement runs as follows: (i) Dunne; (ii) Kitts; (iii) Reece." It may not seem fair to those who believe a purchaser of a property who cedes the title to said property as collateral to secure a mortgage loan, is "the owner", or that the most recent purchaser also purchases all rights and liabilities associated with the property, but it seems to make sense to me. Say you purchased a property in an estate sale, the former owner is deceased; and 18 months after your purchase, a pollutant found in drinking water wells on several nerighboring properties is traced back to a buried liquid waste pit on the property you purchased. Should liability for cleanup costs now all be on you, because you are now the owner? The defense of the estate that you purchased the property from is that it acted in good faith, not knowing that the deceased former owner was burying liquid toxins in a now covered over pit. Are only "good", undisclosed and later discovered "things" on a property you've purchased, yours by simple discovery? Say that the damage from the toxic waste in the above example, includes injury and medical expenses of neighbors who unknowingly drank polluted well water for several years. The dollar amount of the liability exceeds the value of the estate you purchased the property from. Were those named to inherit the proceeds of the sale of the property you paid, now, instead, liable for damages, along with you, or instead of you? Last edited by host; 01-07-2008 at 10:18 PM..