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Show GROCER o fm) 5) nN soerPeceeterentyrery —a Are Finders Really Keepers? A noted attorney offers tips on moneyor property you've lost—or found By SAMUEL G. KLING uttor of “the complete Guide to Everyday Law" ow TRUE is the old children’s rhyme: “Finders keepers, losers weepers”? in most cases, the law says that it depends on what has been lost and where it’s found. Here are 18 everyday situations, any of which could happen to you. Conzider what you would do in each case and then read what your legal rights really are. ye 1. You find a wallet containing money, but nothing in it identifies the owner. Must you advertise for the owner before you can consider the wallet and its contents yours? No, it’s up to the loser to advertise for the finder of his property. One thing that will do more for hemorrhoids than Paze is surgery. But Pazo* can reiieve the 5 major miseries of hemorrhoids. First, Pazo relieves accompanying pain. Second, Pazo relieves burning itch. Third, Pazo fights infection. Fourth, Pazo lubricates thoroughly. And fifth, Pazo shrinks swollen tissue overlying hemorrhoids. Be sure to read and follow the Pazo method enclosed in every Pazo box. inmostcases, Pazo relieves 5 major miseries of hemorrhoids—fast. in suppository and ointment form. 188 smis70.ares Cowra FazMed 2. While in a store, you notice a $20 bill lying on the floor. As you pick up the money, the manager strolls over and asks ycu for the bill, insisting that you found it in his store. May you keep the money or must you turn it over to him? You may retain it, providing the real owner is not in the store to claim it. The law takes the view that the money has been lost, not mislaid, and that you havea better claim to it than anyone except the person who lost it. Should the owner later return and ask for the money, the manager would not be responsible. However,if he has your name and address, he should refer the owner to you. 3. You find a wallet containing $146, together with an identification card bearing the owner’s name and address. Hurrying to the address stated on the card, you inform the owner that you will be glad to return his wallet fora-reward.of $46. ~The: owner refuses-to-offer;any reward at all and threatens to call 32 Family Weekly, February 11,1968 the police if you do not instantly deliver the wallet to him. What are your rights? Legally, none. There is no obligation on the part of the owner to give any reward at all. Should you refuse to return the wallet, the owner may properly have you arrested. 4. A newspaper advertises the following: “Liberal reward will be paid to finder of wristwatch bearing the initials S| G. K. Address Box 124.” Having found a wristwatch answering this description, you hasten to return it for the promised reward. The owner offers you an amount you do not consider “liberal.” You refuse to return the watch unless you are given $25. Whatare your legal rights? None whatever. Legally, if a definite amount is not mentioned, the person returning the lost article has no recourse but to accept the amount offered. 5. Before checking your coat in a restaurant, you put your gloves in the pocket. Later the coat is returned to you, but the gloves are missing. Is the owner liable? No, since the gloves were concealed in the coat without the knowledge of the checkroom attendant. Had he seen the gloves placed in the coat and admitted it, the owner would then be responsible for the gloves as well. 6. You go inte a restaurant for lunch and hang your hat and coat on a hook on the wall. When you finish your meal, the coat is missing. May you recover the value of the coat from the owner? No, since the coat had not been placed under the care of the res- taurant owneror a waiter. A waiter is not expected to guard unchecked coats and hats on hooks about the room. Whenever possible, ask for a check to fix liability on the owner of the restaurant. 7. You deposit a suitcase in the parcel room of a railroad station and receive a check on which is a notice that the railroad’s liability is limited to $25. When youcall for the suitcase, you are told that it is missing. Actually, the contents and case are worth $150. You have not read the printed notice. May you recover the full value instead of just the $257 Yes. The failure of the stationmaster to return your luggage charges him with negligence. It’s true that the parties to a contract may generally limit their liability, but without your actual consent, such a limitation is not binding. The fact that you failed to read the printed notice, if such were really the case, indicates that you never gave your approval to such an agreement and will not be bound by it. However, you will have to prove by proper evidence that the suitcase and contents were actually worth $150. 8. A garage has a sign posted on the wall which says: “Not responsible for damages to automobiles entrusted to our care.” You have never read the: sign. May you recover against the garage owner for damages to your automobile by one of the attendants? Yes. Unless you have actually read the notice, you are not bound byit. The question of whether you actually did read or see the sign then becomes a question of fact to be determined by a jury or by a court sitting as a jury. |