Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania

Re: found property

You asked if you are able to keep a bicycle you found abandoned on your property.

This smells of long held principle of finders keepers, losers weepers.

The law on this depends on the jurisdiction. The local laws, ordinances and even precent in that jurisdiction. The law of trover is very complicated and has developed since the Code of Hamurabbi.

Generally, if property is found then it is held by the finder against all the rest of the world except the true owner. The distinction comes in whether the property was found, abandoned or otherwise dispossessed from or by the true owner.

If the property was abandoned then the true owner no longer wanted it and you could expect that they would not claim it if they saw it in your possession. If the property was not abandoned and was merely misplaced though, the true owner would seek to reclaim the property if s/he saw it in your possession. And the same goes if the owner was dispossessed of the property (by theft or trick). What about if the true owner placed the bike there expecting it to be there when /she returned?

My suggestion would be that you do the following. Take a photograph of the bike and a general dscription, including the location found and bring that to the police. Let them add that information to their file and if someone makes a claim they can direct the persson to you. ALSO, you should post FOUND posters around the neighborhood where the bike was found. Finally, a lost and found ad in the local paper should be run for a period of time. The paper will have a suggested time frame, and likely will not charge for lost and found ads.

After doing all that you still end up in the same position, you may claim the bike against all the rest of the world except the true owner. The laws in your local jurisdiction may require more so be sure to check those laws out.

Regards,

Roger Traversa

email: [email protected]

email: