Benjamin v. Lindner Aviation, Inc.
Supreme Court of Iowa
534 N.W.2d 400 (1995)
State Central Bank (defendant) repossessed an airplane and brought it to Lindner Aviation (defendant), where employee Heath Benjamin (plaintiff) found about $18,000 carefully concealed in the plane's wing, apparently since the 1950s. All three parties claimed the money under Iowa's finder's statute after notice was posted and no true owner came forward. The trial court found the money was mislaid, not lost, and awarded it to the Bank as owner of the premises (the plane) while giving Benjamin only a statutory finder's fee; Benjamin appealed arguing the statute superseded common-law classifications or, alternatively, that the money was a treasure trove, lost, or abandoned.
Whether money deliberately concealed in an airplane wing and later forgotten qualifies as lost property under Iowa's finder's statute, entitling the finder to keep it after notice procedures are followed.