I found a gift card while I was walking on the sidewalk

[Jeran]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona

My question is this... does "finders keepers, losers weepers" apply here?

It is a store gift card for a store called Trader Joes, and it has $100 on it.

I was out walking in the morning today, getting my exercise when I looked down and saw the brightly colored card on the sidewalk. I picked it up and looked at it, it said Trader Joes on it. I figured someone had already used it up and just threw it down on the ground as trash, or litter. But, I thought, ah what the he**, I might as well call the phone number on the back and see if anything was left on the card, and the computer said it had $100 left on it.

I have no idea who had this card (there is no name on the card, no identifying information on it at all), and I don't know if they lost it, or if they threw it away, or what. What I do know is they must have been very careless with it to let it sit out here on the sidewalk. It is the same as leaving $100 sitting on the sidewalk. What would you do? Of course, you would pick up $100 off the sidewalk, wouldn't you?

So, if I use the card at Trader Joes to buy something, would I get in trouble for using it?

And why would it be any different than if I used $100 cash that I found on the sidewalk? I wouldn't get in trouble for spending cash that I found on the sidewalk.

I'm thinking I will probably just let it sit in my desk drawer for about a year, and if no one bothers to go to Trader Joes to cancel the card and get a replacement card after they notice they lost it, for a whole year, then it will be safe for me to go ahead and use it. This way, they will have a year to do something about it and get a replacement card. If I call the number on the back a year from now, it still has $100 on it, I will assume that they don't enough about it to do anything about it.

 

[justalayman]

If you subscribe to "finders keepers" you must accept "criminals caught go to jail" as part of that. Finders keepers almost never applies to misplaced property.

Oh, those same rules apply to that $100 bill you find on the sidewalk too.

 

[Jeran]

If you subscribe to "finders keepers" you must accept "criminals caught go to jail" as part of that. Finders keepers almost never applies to misplaced property.

So, what would you do with it?

And explain to me how this is any different than finding cash on the sidewalk?

Over the years, I have found cash on the sidewalk, in the street, and especially in parking lots. Usually it is less than $20, but still, isn't it the old "finders keepers, losers weepers" sort of thing here?

 

[Sloop John D]

If you subscribe to "finders keepers" you must accept "criminals caught go to jail" as part of that. Finders keepers almost never applies to misplaced property.

The general rule is the finder's rights are greater than all others except the original owner. I don't know why you would think this is a criminal matter. The OP didn't steal the card.

As finder of the lost gift card, it basically belongs to you, but you might be required to compensate the owner if he comes looking for it. Because this is a gift card with no identifying information, I don't see that being very likely.

 

[justalayman]

The general rule is the finder's rights are greater than all others except the original owner. I don't know why you would think this is a criminal matter. The OP didn't steal the card.

As finder of the lost gift card, it basically belongs to you, but you might be required to compensate the owner if he comes looking for it. Because this is a gift card with no identifying information, I don't see that being very likely.

so, if I happen to find your television, DVR, and all the furnishings of your house along side the road I get to take what I want and keep it because I don't know who it belongs to and you didn't have the foresight to engrave them with your name?

Taking ANY property you know not to be yours knowing you have no right to it and using it for your own means is conversion. In some states, that is definitely a criminal act as well as a civil act.

In Arizona, abandoned property becomes the property of whomever lays claim to it. Mislaid property remains the property of the person that mislaid it. Cash money, specifically in Arizona, it never considered to be abandoned but merely mislaid property. A gift card, due to it's inherent value it likely to be treated exactly the same as cash for the purposes of determining ownership.

as to it being a crime?

13-1802. Theft; classification; definitions

A. A person commits theft if, without lawful authority, the person knowingly:

4. Comes into control of lost, mislaid or misdelivered property of another under circumstances providing means of inquiry as to the true owner and appropriates such property to the person's own or another's use without reasonable efforts to notify the true owner; or

. Theft of any property or services valued at less than one thousand dollars is a class 1 misdemeanor, unless the property is taken from the person of another, is a firearm or is an animal taken for the purpose of animal fighting in violation of section 13-2910.01, in which case the theft is a class 6 felony.

I do not know if the cards are registered to anybody. OP doesn;t either. That means he is required to attempt to ascertain true ownership before ever considering claiming it by inquiring anyplace he believes may have the answer to the question or to simply turn it over to the police who will take care of the matter for him.


and that same law can be applied to the loss of cash as well.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Usually, you must turn it into the police. If I had to bet, this "found" card was swapped out of a a gift card box and activated when the customer bought the dummy card. It probably remains the property of Trader Joe's.

 

[Sloop John D]

so, if I happen to find your television, DVR, and all the furnishings of your house along side the road I get to take what I want and keep it because I don't know who it belongs to and you didn't have the foresight to engrave them with your name?

Yeah, you can. As I said above, generally if the property is lost ("mislaid"), then the finder's rights are greater than all other's except the original owner. That means if you find my property on the side of the road, it's yours until I come after you for it, in which case you would need to return it or compensate me. Although I think in your example, you would have a really good case that the property was abandoned. I believe the rule for abandoned property is that the owner has given up their rights to it. Finder controls over all others.

Taking ANY property you know not to be yours knowing you have no right to it and using it for your own means is conversion. In some states, that is definitely a criminal act as well as a civil act.

Yes, if the property is taken. That rule doesn't apply if the property is found. At least, not that I am aware of. If you have a cite that says otherwise I would happily concede.

In Arizona, abandoned property becomes the property of whomever lays claim to it. Mislaid property remains the property of the person that mislaid it. Cash money, specifically in Arizona, it never considered to be abandoned but merely mislaid property. A gift card, due to it's inherent value it likely to be treated exactly the same as cash for the purposes of determining ownership.

Yes, this is true. Like I said, the finder's rights are greater than all others except for the original owner. If the original owner comes after you for it, you would be responsible for returning it or compensating the owner. If the owner doesn't, it's yours. I'm guessing that there would be a statute of limitations on seeking its return, but this would probably vary between the states.

I do not know if the cards are registered to anybody. OP doesn;t either. That means he is required to attempt to ascertain true ownership before ever considering claiming it

Is he? Am I obliged to attempt to ascertain the true owner of a penny I find on the ground before I consider claiming it? I think the rule you're asserting is rather harsh for a criminal rule, as it would place a legal obligation on any person who finds something that might be mislaid, and prescribe criminal charges if they don't satisfy this obligation. Of course, if you have a cite, please post it. I would be curious to see if this is a real law.


As for the OP's plan of holding onto the gift card for a while, I think it's a good one. I know that vendors can replace lost gift cards if you have a receipt, because I have done this before. As long as the balance on the original card hasn't been spent, they can draw that balance to $0 and put it on a new card.

I think a year is a bit long though. I would guess after about 2 or 3 months, if no one has tried to replace the card, they aren't going to.

 

[quincy]

You might be interested in viewing the following 2012 Arizona Appeals Court decision in Grande v Jennings, accessible through the following link. It describes lost, mislaid, abandoned or treasure trove property: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/az-court-of-appeals/1602294.html.

 

[tranquility]

This seems a BIG theory over reality question. In theory, a finder must hold the item or give it to the government. In reality? No one is going to find out. Is it a crime to take the money for oneself? Yes. Will anyone ever know? No.

(This post will self destruct if the government uses the powers it has.)

 

[justalayman]

Of course, if you have a cite, please post it. I would be curious to see if this is a real law.

go argue with yourself on this one. I'll not waste my time. I know what the OP will do so it is futile to provide anything more than I have.

It's sad that somebody on this board suggests a means for a another poster to attempt to circumvent the law though. Shame on you sloop John D, shame on you.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

It appears reporting is required by state statute.

http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/44/00307.htm&Title=44&DocType=ARS

 

[justalayman]

It appears reporting is required by state statute.

http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/44/00307.htm&Title=44&DocType=ARS

Hey, you're going to cause John to question his entire childhood if we prove "finders keepers" is not a valid legal argument. Can you live with that on your conscience?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Hey, you're going to cause John to question his entire childhood if we prove "finders keepers" is not a valid legal argument. Can you live with that on your conscience?

Somehow I don't think finders keepers was involved, but that is just me.

 

[LdiJ]

go argue with yourself on this one. I'll not waste my time. I know what the OP will do so it is futile to provide anything more than I have.

It's sad that somebody on this board suggests a means for a another poster to attempt to circumvent the law though. Shame on you sloop John D, shame on you.

I disagree with this assessment.

John D is not suggesting a means to circumvent the law. John D. is disagreeing with you about what the law actually says.

I don't know enough about it myself to have an opinion on which of you is correct. However as an outsider viewing both of your posts its clear to me that its a disagreement about what the law says, not John D. suggesting that someone circumvent the law.

 

[Sloop John D]

It's sad that somebody on this board suggests a means for a another poster to attempt to circumvent the law though. Shame on you sloop John D, shame on you.

Don't be that way... You know I'm only trying to help. Check out Quincy's case. It reiterates everything I've said here. The only thing I messed up was the difference between lost and mislaid property. You'll have to forgive me on that one, as it has been many years since I was taught this stuff.

From Grande v. Jennings:

"Under the common law, 'the finder of lost or abandoned property and treasure trove acquires the right to possess the property against the entire world but the rightful owner regardless of the place of finding.'" The court is quoting a couple cases that I am assuming are very old, because this is a very old rule.


With regard to OHRoadwarrior's statute, it is specific to abandoned property, and you already pointed out (and the Grande court agrees) that found money is never considered abandoned. Furthermore, it looks like this statute is specific to a particular type of situation or finder, as it makes specific reference to making a report to "the department," but doesn't specify the department. If OHRoadwarrior wants to post which section of the Arizona code this comes from, I could probably explain when and who is required to report the finding of abandoned property, but it's not really important for answering this thread.