ownership; but while in these one man may have an absolute estate, which he may, at any time, assert to the exclusion of all others, another man may have, temporarily, a special estate therein, liable to be defeated by the assertion of the absolute estate. Such a special, or qualified, estate is that of the borrower, hirer, or pledgee of a chattel personal, of a common carrier in the goods carried, or of a sheriff in chattels attached or levied on in execution. Read 2 Bl. Comm., pp. 389-396. Will. P. P., pp. 21-30. 2 Kent Comm., Lect. xxxv, pp. 347-350. $156. Of the Tenure, Time, and Tenancy of Estates in Chattels Personal. A chattel, whether real or personal, is not inheritable, and no estate in fee, as such, can be created therein. The absolute ownership of a personal chattel is, however, analogous to an estate of fee-simple in lands, and the person, having such ownership, may grant to another an estate in such chattel, for life, for years, or at will. Particular estates, with remainder following, may also be created in chattels personal, wherever the use of such chattels does not consist in their consumption. Estates in chattels personal may also be held in severalty, joint-tenancy, or in common, in the same manner, and subject to the same general rules, as in estates in real property. Read 2 Bl. Comm., pp. 398, 399. Will. P. P., pp. 186-222. 2 Kent Comm., Lect. xxxv, pp. 350, 352–354. CHAPTER XII. OF THE TITLE TO ESTATES IN PERSONAL PROPERTY. § 157. Of Title by Prerogative. Title to estates in chattels, real or personal, is of three kinds: Title by operation of law; Title by the sole act of the present owner; and Title by the joint act of the present and the former owner. Title by operation of law is of five kinds: Title by Prerogative; Title by Forfeiture; Title by Succession; Title by Marriage; and Title by Judicial Decree. Title by prerogative is the title by which the government acquires an estate in such private personal property as may be necessary for the public use. By a right, akin to that of eminent domain, a government may take personal property, whenever wanted for public use, upon making due compensation therefor. By the right of taxation, a right also inherent in every government, imposts and duties may be levied upon its subjects, so far as may be necessary to carry on the functions of such government. Goods taken from the enemy in time of war, goods waived or scattered by a thief in his flight when no owner can be found, wrecks found at sea or on shore when no owner appears, estrays or cattle whose owner is unknown, also usually vest in the state, and may be granted by it to individuals, either by some special act or by provisions in the general statutes. All such property is acquired by pre rogative. Read 1 Bl. Comm., pp. 290–299. 2 Bl. Comm., pp. 408–411. 2 Kent Comm., Lect. xxxvi, pp. 357-360. § 158. Of Title by Forfeiture. Title by forfeiture is the title by which an estate in personal property is acquired as a consequence of some fault or crime on the part of its former owner. By this title fines and penalties for crime, and in some cases the implements of crime, vest in the government. Conditional estates in chattels, as in real property, may be forfeited by breach of condition; and the misuse of a chattel, by a person having a qualified estate therein, will sometimes determine his estate in favor of the absolute owner. Read 2 Bl. Comm., pp. 420, 421. 2 Kent Comm., Lect. xxxvii, pp. 385-387. § 159. Of Title by Succession. Title by succession is the title by which the personal representatives or successors of a former owner of personal property acquire an estate in the same. Such is the title by which the successive members of a corporation acquire its property and franchises from their predecessors. In judgment of law, a corporation never dies, and property, once vested in it, continues to belong to it, although the persons, who composed it at the time such property was acquired, have ceased to be its members. When new members succeed the old, they therefore succeed to the property and corporate rights which their predecessors, as such members, obtained and enjoyed, and the title of such new members is a title by succession. By the same title also are the remaining goods and chattels of a deceased intestate vested in his personal representatives, after administration on his estate, and the distribution thereof. Read 2 Bl. Comm., pp. 430-433, 515-520. 2 Kent Comm., Lect. xxxvii, pp. 420–436. 160. Of Title by Marriage. Title by marriage is the title by which a husband acquires an estate in the personal property of the wife, or by which the wife acquires an estate in the personal property of her husband. The entire personal estate of the wife was formerly vested, by her marriage, in the husband. Her choses in possession became absolutely and immediately his. Her choses in action became his if reduced by him to possession, or in any other way converted by him to his separate use. Her chattels real he could dispose of at his pleasure, or they might be taken for his debts. The rents and profits of her real estates were also his, as well as all the avails of her personal skill and labor. The wife, on the other hand, acquired no rights in the personal property of the husband during the coverture, except to those articles of clothing and ornament (called her paraphernalia), which were purchased by him for her use. After the cessation of the coverture by his death, she became entitled, if he died intestate, to succeed to a certain proportion of his personal estate. In most of the States, these rules of the common law have been greatly modified by statutes. Read 2 Bl. Comm., pp. 433-436, 515. Will. P. P., pp. 273–284. 2 Kent Comm., Lect. xxviii, pp. 130-143. Schouler Dom. Rel., pp. 111-142, 158–163, 168-175. § 161. Of Title by Judicial Decree. Title by judicial decree is the title by which a person acquires an estate in personal property, as the direct result of judicial action. When the owner of personal property has recovered and collected damages, in an action of trespass or trover, from one who has wrongfully dispossessed him of such property, the defendant in such action becomes the owner of such property, by virtue of the judgment and execution against him. Damages recovered in an action of tort, and costs or penalties recovered in any form of action, are acquired by the same title. Upon the involuntary bankruptcy of a tradesman, his personal estate is transferred to his assignee, by the judicial action which determines him to be bankrupt and appoints his assignee. The administrator of the estate of a deceased intestate becomes, for the time being, the owner of such decedent's personal property, by virtue of the decree of the probate court appointing him to administer thereon; and a guardian, appointed by a court, derives his title to the personal estate of his ward from the same source. Read 2 Bl. Comm., pp. 436-439, 485, 486. 2 Kent Comm., Lect. xxxvii, pp. 387, 388, 399, 408. 3 Pars. Cont., Part ii, Ch. xii, Sec. 8, 9, 10. § 162. Of Title by Occupancy. Title by the sole act of the present owner is of three kinds: Title by Occupancy; Title by Accession; and Title by Creation. Title by occupancy is the title by which a person acquires an estate in such personal property as, at the time of such acquisition, belonged to no one. The elements of light, air, and water, animals feræ naturæ, goods abandoned and found on the surface of the earth, are the principal classes of property acquired by occupancy. Read 2 Bl. Comm., pp. 400-404. 2 Kent Comm., Lect. xxxvi, pp. 355-360. |