Court: Court of Appeals of Arkansas; November 3, 2004; Arkansas; State Appellate Court
The case revolves around the determination of whether $14,200 found by appellant Alex Franks in a hotel room was mislaid. The White County Circuit Court ruled that the money was indeed mislaid and ordered its return to the hotel owners, J.K. and Seddika Kazi. Franks discovered the money in a dresser drawer while retrieving laundry after checking out of the Comfort Inn in Searcy, Arkansas. The money was found wrapped tightly in masking tape, in plain view, and not concealed, leading the court to conclude that it had been intentionally placed there.
Despite the hotel’s history with drug-related activities, the court dismissed the notion that the money was abandoned or drug-related, emphasizing that it was mislaid rather than lost. The court referenced Terry v. Lock, establishing that the classification of found property influences ownership rights. It distinguished between abandoned (voluntarily forsaken), lost (involuntarily parted with), and mislaid property (intentionally placed but forgotten), ultimately determining that the money was mislaid and should be held in trust by the Kazis until claimed by the owner. The court dismissed claims from Franks, the City of Searcy, and hotel manager Pritchett, leading to the current appeal.
Property is deemed lost only if it is inferred that it was unintentionally left in its location. A finder of lost property gains a limited interest, allowing them to keep it against everyone except the rightful owner. Mislaid property, however, is intentionally placed in a location and later forgotten, with the presumption that it remains under the custody of the premises' owner. The finder of mislaid property has no ownership rights and must surrender it to the premises' owner, who acts as a gratuitous bailee with a duty of care to return the property and is liable for misdelivery.
The classification of property as lost or mislaid heavily depends on where it is found. Treasure trove refers to concealed money with an unknown owner, presumed to belong to the finder unless the true owner is identified. In the case of Terry v. Lock, money found in a motel by a contractor was ruled mislaid, as it was intentionally placed in a box for security. The court determined that the placement indicated the owner's intent to safeguard the money, contrasting with an assertion that it could be considered lost or abandoned. The trial court's findings are upheld unless clearly erroneous, which requires a definitive conviction of error based on the evidence.
In this case, the court affirmed that the money was mislaid because it was intentionally put in a drawer, rather than being carelessly discarded. The court noted that if it were found on the floor, it might be deemed lost, but the drawer placement indicated intentionality. Thus, the trial court concluded that the money was not abandoned or lost, supporting the classification of mislaid property. The decision was affirmed, with dissenting opinions from two justices.
