Hannah v. Peel
King’s Bench Division
[1945] K.B. 509
Relevant factsFree
Major Hugh Peel (defendant) was granted a house in 1938 but never lived there. In 1940, Lance-Corporal Hannah (plaintiff), quartered there as a soldier, found a brooch embedded in a windowsill and reported it to police, who held it for two years before giving it to Peel when no owner turned up; Peel sold it for 66£. Hannah sued for return of the brooch or its value.
IssueFree
Whether the finder of a lost chattel on another's property has rights to that chattel superior to the rights of the property owner.