Armory v. Delamirie

"Armory v. Delamirie" (1722) K.B., 1 Strange 505, 93 ER 664, is a famous English case on personal property law and finder's rights. It is one of the first cases that establishes possession as a valuable property right and as evidence of ownership.

Background

Armory was a chimney sweep's boy who found a jewel in the setting of a ring. He took the jewel to the shop of Delamirie, a goldsmith, to obtain a valuation of the item. An apprentice, the agent of Delamirie, removed the gems from the setting while pretending to weigh it. He informed Armory that it was worth three halfpence. The apprentice offered to pay him for it but Armory refused and asked the apprentice to return the stones and setting in their prior condition. The apprentice returned the socket of the jewel without the gems. Armory brought an action against Delamirie in trover (via respondeat superior for the actions of his apprentice).

Ruling

The issue before the court was whether either party had any property rights to the jewel. Though neither was the true owner, the Court held that both Armory and Delamirie had property rights in the jewel. They each have a right to possession that is enforceable against everyone except those with a greater right to the possession. The true owner of the jewel was not relevant, the Court was only concerned with who had a "better" right to possession. The priority of rights to possession say that a finder has better title to property that he or she finds over everyone except the true owner, thus Armory had full title to the jewel. The Court found in favour of Armory. Since the jewel was not produced at the trial, Armory was awarded the maximum value that a jewel of that form could have (under the principle that a wrongdoer should not be able to derive gain, i.e. uncertainty of damages, from the effects of his wrong-doing).

ee also

*Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property
*Trover