LAW 1101
Business Law
Application Questions for Personal Property
Directions: Follow the instructions below to answer the questions provided. You will then submit this file to the dropbox included in the topic. MAKE SURE TO READ EACH QUESTION ENTIRELY. The boxes will expand as you type, if needed.
1. India Batten has 3 daughters and 5 grandchildren. Daughter Alpha has one daughter named Delta. Daughter Brava has 4 children named Echo, Fox, Galt and Hero. Daughter Charlie has no children. When India turns 68 years old she takes 5 envelopes and writes the name of each grandchild on one envelope. She puts $10,000 in each envelope, seals all the envelopes, and puts the envelopes in her top dresser drawer. India doesn’t mention the envelopes to anyone; but that year, as each grandchild visits her, she gives the appropriate envelope to the grandchild. Galt has a busy and difficult year, and does not visit his grandmother. India tells him on the phone that she understands he can’t visit, and she looks forward to seeing him.
India dies unexpectedly shortly after turning 69. The entire family comes to the funeral. At some point in time, Galt asks for his envelope. Alpha explains that after India died, Alpha was concerned about having so much cash in India’s house, and Alpha put the money in her own safety deposit box. Galt thanks Alpha and tells her that he would like to go to the bank with her to get the envelope. Charlie, who is very emotional about her mother’s death, interrupts to say that Galt should not receive the money because Galt did not visit his grandmother for an entire year, and doesn’t deserve it. Alpha does not know what to do; and she doesn’t want anyone to be angry with her. Everyone knows that India has a will that leaves one-third of her estate to each of her daughters. Answer the questions below relying on your book and your understanding of a gift. You shouldn’t need to do any additional research.
a. State the 3 requirements of a gift. Bullets are fine.
b. What argument would Galt make to prove that each requirement was met.
c. What argument would Charlie make to prove that none, or only one, or the requirements were met?
d. In your opinion, what did India intend to happen to the envelopes if she died before she gave the envelopes to her grandchildren? Explain whether you can prove to a court that you are correct.
e. Based on your answers above, do you think the court would rule in favor of Galt or Charlie? (Answers may vary. Support your answer).
2. There have been many lawsuits regarding what happens to an engagement ring if the couple doesn’t get married. Some of these lawsuits have involved rings worth $20,000 to $30,000. Common law varies from state to state, and so do the court outcomes. Therefore, answers can vary. Consider the questions carefully and support your answers.
Assume Terry asks for Pat’s hand in marriage. Pat agrees to marriage, and Terry slips an engagement ring (worth $5,000) on Pat’s finger. Then the marriage is called off. Terry asks to have the ring back, but Pat says no.
a. Assume an engagement ring is a gift that becomes effective when given. Apply the elements of a gift and explain who gets to keep the ring.
b. Assume an engagement ring is a gift that is conditional and only becomes effective upon marriage. Assume, as well, that the decision to call off the wedding is mutual. Explain who will get the ring.
c. Assume the engagement ring is conditional upon marriage. Should “fault” apply? Who should get the ring if one party is unfaithful and breaks the engagement in order to be with another person.
3. The Big Thing: Assume that in the mid 1800’s a passenger ship sank during a storm in the Atlantic Ocean, less than 200 miles off the east coast of the United States. Many of the passengers were gold miners, bringing gold from California. It was estimated that two million dollars of gold was lost when the ship went down. Several insurance companies (including underwriters and others) paid claims for the lost gold.
In 1986 a corporate group used new technology to discover the gold, now estimated to be worth one billion dollars. The corporate group claimed ownership of the ship and its contents. The insurance companies (and others) that had paid out claims on the lost gold, claimed they owned the gold. Please do your best to answer the questions without additional research. Answers will vary, and that’s ok, as long as you support your answer. You can make counter arguments when you reply to your classmates.
- Based on these facts and your textbook, explain whether the gold is mislaid, lost, or abandoned property.
- Explain whether your answer to part (a) would change if you knew that the insurance companies had destroyed all their records concerning the claims, and that the insurance companies had made no effort to find the lost gold once the technology became available to do so.
- Based on what you have learned about mislaid, lost, and abandoned property, explain who you believe should be awarded ownership of the gold.
- Assume that the trial court applied the “common law of finds” (the court used the common law regarding mislaid, lost, and abandoned property, just as you were asked to do above.) On appeal, the appellate court stated the correct law to apply is the “common law of salvage.” Read the link below to understand salvage. Explain what the corporate group who found the gold is entitled to as “salvors” of the gold.
- In your opinion, explain which law seems fairer to you in this particular situation where the corporate group found the gold: the law of finds or the law of salvage?
- As a matter of public policy, if we want mariners to help other mariners who are in trouble at sea, which law is more likely to elicit a helpful response at sea, regardless of the value of the ship, the cargo, or the environment being saved?
- Based on what you now know, why do you think the appellate court applied the law of salvage rather than the law of finds?
Read the following link for information regarding salvage. Although this article doesn’t specify, the appellate court stated that the law of salvage applies to sunken ships as well as disabled ships.