Favorite v. Miller,

407 A.2d 974 (1978)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A band of patriots, upon hearing the news of the Declaration of Independence, toppled a statue of King George III and then took the pieces apart and loaded the gilded lead onto wagons to have them cast into bullets. On the way to the foundry, loyalists managed to steal back pieces of the statue, and they scattered pieces about the area known as the Davis Swamp. Since then fragments of the statue have continued to turn up in the area since that time. In 1972, Miller (D), determined that part of the statue might be located on property owned by Favorite (P). With a metal detector, D discovered a fragment and dug it up and removed it from P's property. Ps eventually learned of the fragment when they read about it in the newspaper long after it had been removed. D then took the fragment and agreed to sell it to the Museum of New York City for $5,500. P then sued to have the fragment returned to them. The trial court found for P on the basis that the fragment was mislaid and D appealed.