Picking up and disposing of items improperly or assuming legal responsibility

　　□ Our reporter Xu Weilun, our newspaper intern Hu Jinghan and Pan Zeqiang

　　In daily life, it is inevitable to lose or pick up other people's items.

When a lost item is found, most people will actively contact the owner and send it to the public security agency based on the simplest concept of "picking up money without ignorance".

However, in practice, there are also people who picked up wrongly because they had a misunderstanding of the nature of what they picked up, or although they realized that they did not handle it properly afterwards, they eventually got themselves into disputes and caused unnecessary trouble.

　　"Legal lost property refers to the property that the owner or occupant of the movable property lost control of another place due to subjective negligence or natural reasons." Recently, the Shunyi District People's Court of Beijing convened a legal issue in a lost property dispute. The press briefing pointed out that the finder has the obligation to properly keep it and return it or deliver it in time. After finding the lost property, he should promptly notify the right holder to collect it, or send it to the public security and other relevant departments; the finder or the relevant department is deliberate or serious If the lost property is damaged or lost due to negligence, civil liability shall be borne.

　　I will be liable for compensation if I find it and discard it at will

　　Dong Mou's new mobile phone bought for 3200 yuan was only used for two months and accidentally lost it. He dialed his mobile phone number to indicate that it was turned off.

After discovering that the mobile phone was lost, Dong immediately went to a nearby mobile phone shop and asked the owner to pay attention to whether anyone had flashed or sold the same type of mobile phone.

After unremitting efforts, he used the mobile phone location function and inquired about the surveillance video of the mobile phone shop, locked the suspected pick-up of the mobile phone, Jin, and immediately called the police.

　　Jin said at the police station that he had lost the phone after he found it because he could not use the phone.

Regarding the amount of compensation, the two parties could not reach an agreement, so Dong went to the court for this and demanded compensation from Jin.

　　After the trial, the court held that, according to Jin’s statement at the public security organ, he tried to unlock the phone, obviously having selfish intentions of using it, and then threw the phone away because he failed to unlock it.

After Jin found the mobile phone, not only did he not actively search for the owner or hand it over to the public security and other relevant departments, but also threw it away on the grounds that it could not be used. He deliberately caused the loss of the lost property. His behavior caused Dong’s mobile phone to be unable to be found. Therefore, Jin should compensate Dong for the economic losses caused.

Regarding the amount of compensation, given that the value of the mobile phone at the time of loss is depreciated compared to the original purchase price, Dong's economic loss is determined to be 2,900 yuan.

　　"It is our traditional virtue to collect gold, and it is also a clear stipulation of the law." Tao Xiaochao, a judge of the Yangzhen Court of the Shunyi Court, reminded that according to Article 314 of the Civil Code of our country, the lost property should be returned to the right holder; the person who finds it should notify the right holder in time Receive it, or send it to the public security and other relevant departments.

That is to say, when an unfamiliar item is found or picked up, it can be judged as lost according to the common sense of life. If the owner can be contacted, the owner should be contacted as soon as possible to communicate the return; if it is difficult to contact the owner, it should be sent to the police in time The agency, and explain the relevant circumstances when the lost property is found, so that the public security agency can contact the owner in time.

　　According to Wang Xiaolei, President of the Yangzhen Court of the Shunyi Court, in addition to the above-mentioned provisions, Article 316 of the Civil Code stipulates that the finder shall properly keep the lost property before the lost property is delivered to the relevant department, and the relevant department shall properly keep the lost property before the lost property is collected. If the lost property is damaged or lost due to gross negligence, civil liability shall be borne.

　　Regarding the situation where the lost property is found and then lost, Wang Xiaolei said that if the finder is not at fault, there is no need to compensate; if the finder deliberately discards or fails to fulfill the obligation of proper custody of the found item, he shall be liable for civil compensation. For the items found, unless the owner admits to give up after contacting the owner, or the person who finds it can be regarded as unowned according to the common sense of life, the person who finds it will not be able to obtain the ownership, and must not make himself a lawbreaker because of temporary greed."

　　The owner shall pay the storage fee and fulfill the promise of reward

　　"Of course, most of the finder will take the initiative to fulfill their obligations, properly keep them and actively contact the owner to return the property. During this process, a certain amount of storage costs may be incurred. Some people will be embarrassed to ask the owner for the sake of face. Some owners not only did not take the initiative to ask if there were any storage costs, they even refused to pay the reasonable storage fees paid by the finder.” Regarding this part of the cost, Wang Xiaolei said that there are clear provisions at the legal level that the right holder should contact the The finder or the relevant department shall pay the necessary expenses for the storage of the lost property and other expenses.

　　Wang Xiaolei believes that the requirement that the owner pay the relevant necessary expenses to the finder or the relevant department not only meets the requirements of the principle of fairness, but also helps to promote the finder and the relevant department to properly keep and actively return the lost property, thereby reducing the risk of improper storage or refusal to return. Disputes caused.

　　In addition to paying the statutory related expenses, in real life, some owners want to retrieve the lost property as soon as possible. They also release information through TV, radio, WeChat, etc., such as saying that "someone accidentally forgot a handbag In the taxi, there are passports and other items in the bag, please contact the person who finds it, and the owner is willing to give a certain reward."

　　"At the legal level, this is a typical example of finding a lost property through a reward advertisement." Wang Xiaolei said, a reward advertisement refers to a public expression in the form of advertisements, which means that people who complete a certain action or work will be paid a certain amount.

In this case, the person who completes the specific act of offering a reward for advertising is obliged to return the lost property, and at the same time has the right to request corresponding remuneration from the person offering the reward.

　　If the owner refuses to pay the relevant expenses, my country’s law also grants the finder and relevant departments the right to claim the right to claim the necessary expenses for the safekeeping of the lost property and the promised rewards, which can be remedied by filing a lawsuit.

　　"In daily life, some finder will choose to claim the above rights to the owner by leaving the lost property in the above situation. In fact, this method is not only prone to disputes, but also has great legal risks." Tao Xiaochao reminded the law. While protecting the relevant claim rights of the finder, certain restrictions are also imposed on the rights of the finder, that is, if the finder infringes on the lost property, he will lose the above-mentioned rights, resulting in his later not having the right to claim the expenses incurred for the storage of the lost property. , Also has no right to request the owner to fulfill the promise of reward.

　　Keep the number plate in the bag so that others can pick it up and contact you

　　In fact, losing things is a common thing for most people. How can people who find things find you quickly?

In this regard, Wang Xiaolei reminded that as the owner of the item, he must always pay attention to keeping his own items. If the item is lost due to his own subjective fault, although the person who finds it still has the obligation to keep and return the item, If it is an ordinary item or the finder or the public security organ cannot contact the right holder, it is easy for others to misunderstand it as a discarded item or lose ownership.

Under such circumstances, both parties tend to take care of themselves, which can easily lead to unnecessary disputes.

　　"In our daily life, we can use some tricks to avoid this kind of trouble." Wang Xiaolei said for example, for example, you can put a number plate with your own contact information inside books, wallets, mobile phone cases, handbags, etc., if it is not necessary Keep the items you carry with you at home or other fixed locations as much as possible.

　　In addition, after the lost item is picked up by someone, there may be a situation where the person who picked it up transfers the item to a third person.

In this regard, Article 312 of the Civil Code stipulates that the owner or other right holder has the right to recover the lost property; if the lost property is occupied by others through transfer, the right owner has the right to request damages from the person without the right to dispose of, or to know or It should be known that the transferee shall request the transferee to return the restored property within two years from the date of the transfer; however, if the transferee purchases the lost property through auction or from a qualified business operator, the right holder shall pay when requesting the return of the restored property Expenses paid by the assignee; the right holder has the right to recover from the holder without the right of disposition after paying the fees paid to the assignee.

　　It can be seen from this that when the lost property is transferred, the law gives the right to remedy the owner's right to choose: when the lost property is transferred by the person who has no right to dispose of, the owner can either claim damages from the person who has no right to dispose of, or he can claim damages at his discretion. Knowing or should know the transferee within two years from the date of request to the transferee to return the original.

　　Regarding these two remedies, Wang Xiaolei reminded that if the owner chooses to directly claim the return to the finder (that is, the person who has no right to dispose of), because the possession of the property no longer belongs to the finder, he can only claim the value of the lost property to the finder. If the owner claims to return it to the transferee, he can request the return of the original; if the transferee obtains the lost property through a legal form, the owner shall pay the transferee to the transferee while requesting the transferee to return the original The expenses paid by people, “It can be seen that the former is more suitable for general items whose value is easy to judge, and for specific items, the latter is more in line with the interests of the owner”.