South Staffordshire Water Co. v. Sharman

South Staffordshire Water Company (plaintiff) hired Sharman (defendant) to clean a pool on its property, and Sharman found two gold rings in the mud at the pool's bottom; when South Staffordshire demanded the rings, Sharman refused and instead gave them to police, who eventually returned them to Sharman after failing to locate the true owner. South Staffordshire sued for the rings, and the lower court, applying precedent involving items found in a publicly accessible shop, ruled for Sharman as the finder; South Staffordshire appealed.