You be the Judge, decide this case?
KR_7752 asked:
Marianna and Jason Jones were the proprietors of an antique store. They attended auctions frequently to obtain items for their personal use and as inventory for their store. On June 4, 1999, they attended an auction sponsored by Antique Helper in Indianapolis. The rules of the auction were that the sale was without reserve and that all sales were final.
Marianna and Jason Jones were the proprietors of an antique store. They attended auctions frequently to obtain items for their personal use and as inventory for their store. On June 4, 1999, they attended an auction sponsored by Antique Helper in Indianapolis. The rules of the auction were that the sale was without reserve and that all sales were final.
During the course of the auction, the Marianna and Jason purchased a safe for $50 that had been part of the Girard estate. The auctioneer told the bidders that the inside compartment of the safe was still locked, and that the required combinations or keys to unlock the safe were unavailable.
When Marianna took the safe to a locksmith several days later to have the safe opened, the locksmith found $22,000 inside. The locksmith phoned the police who impounded the money. The Girard estate sued to recover the money, and Mr. and Mrs. Jones claimed that the safe and its contents had been sold to them.
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I find for Marianna and Jason Jones
the rules of the auction are
all sales were final.
the safe belongs to the joneses. they bought it fair and square. if the girard estate wanted the contents of the safe, they should have opened it before they sold it.
The money belongs to the estate!
Jones wins.
All sales were final. That is all there is to it. The safe and its contents were sold to Mr. and Mrs. Jones, so the money is theirs.
They bought it as is the contents belongs tyo the new owner.
It belongs to Mr. and Mrs. Jones. The estate has no right to re-coop.
Right of property!! When they bought and paid for the safe, they paid for it and all it included. Its not their fault the auctioneers or even police didnt take the time to have a locksmith figure out the combination. The Jones’ have legal right to the safe and all money found inside…
or at least I think so
I rule for the Jones, it’s hard to keep up with them.
Jones own the legal right to all the property
Boy, I think the money belongs to Marianna and Jason and
shame on the locksmith for calling the auhorities.
(Let me know how it turns out?)
So sad, for the estate. They had lots of time to get a locksmith, something Marianna and jason were able to figure out very quickly.
By the way, the locksmith did the right thing. I do not know for sure, but under the Patriot Act, he may have been required to do so.
“All sales final” means just that.
It belongs to the buyers.1.The lock smith had no right to call the police as he was hired by the Jones to open the safe.2. The sale was final.3.The Girard estate had no legal claim to the money as the safe was sold to the Jones.4.The Girards should have had the safe opened before the sale.5. By putting it in the sale they gave up legal rights to it’s contents.
In my opinion the safe belongs to MARIANNA & JASON JONES with the reasonings that follow: 1) The safe was put up for auction by the estate. 2) the Girard estate did no actions to open the safe or have a locksmith open the safe when in possession of the estate 3) the safe was purchased by the Jones and the payment was satisfied and accepted by the Girard Estate. **With the evidence put forth the ruling goes to the MARIANNA & JASON JONES in addition the Girard Estate also shall add in Jones’ legal fees in final settlement of the matter.
Actually…I’m starting over and thinking in terms of who administered the estate. It is the responsibility of the administer of the estate to distribute the assets. A locksmith should have been hired to open the safe at the time. Was there an Attorney involved? The Attorney might have a malpractice suit against him/her for not advising the administrator to have the safe opened.
Secondly, once the safe was sold then it was the property of Mr. and Mrs. Jones.
So I say that Mr. and Mrs. Jones keep the money found and the estate file a malpractice suit for $22,000 against the Attorney for mishandling the estate.
The safe and money are Mr. and Mrs. Jones. First-all sales were final. If the Jones had not been able to get the safe open the auction house would not have taken in back. Second-the auction house had every opportunity to open the safe and discover the contents, they chose not to do so out of laziness or cheapness (not wanting to pay a locksmith). Third-if the auction house had wanted to claim the contents all they had to do was put a provision in the sale that they retained interest in the possible contents of the safe.
It would be my ruling that the safe and all of its contents belong to the buyer. The estate knew or should have known that there was a reasonable possibility that the inside compartment contained something of value (seeing that it was a safe) and therefore was responsible for taking measures to find out what was in the safe before selling it. Because they chose not to, they cannot seek to undo an arm’s length transaction.
If you buy a house and a room is locked, you own what ever is in that room. Same with the safe. Whether it was money, or dust, Mr. and Mrs. Jones legally own the safe and its contents.