Daily Development for
Wednesday, May 3, 2000
By: Patrick A. Randolph,
Jr.
Professor of Law
UMKC School of Law
Of Counsel: Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin
Kansas City, Missouri
randolphp@umkc.edu
LANDLORD/TENANT;
LANDLORD'S LIENS; SELF STORAGE: Where property is placed in a selfstorage facility
by a party other than the owner, the facility has a lien on the property
pursuant to the Self Storage Facility Act.
Estate of Downs v.
Webster, 716 N.E.2d 1256 (Ill. App. 3 Dist, 1999).
Property was placed in
storage by a former executor of an estate who was later removed amidst
allegations of improper conduct. Newlyappointed executor brought an action in
replevin to reclaim the property. Following a bench trial, the court found for
the selfstorage facility owner and ordered that he return all property in his
possession be returned upon the payment of the lien. The executor appealed.
At common law, innkeepers
could maintain a lien over property which guests brought to an inn. The court
noted that the legislature, in drafting the SelfStorage Facility Act, had made
no provision for property wrongfully placed in a storage facility. The statute
explicitly states that the owner of a selfstorage facility has a lien
"upon all personal property located" therein. This statutory language
is similar to the language of the Innkeeper's Act. The Innkeeper's Act was
construed to mean that an innkeeper has a lien on all property brought by
guests into a hotel, even if that property is owned by someone other than the
guest. Due to the similarity in language, the court held that the SelfStorage
Facility Act was to be similarly construed.
Additionally, the court
held that as neither the statute nor the contract explicitly provided for
attorneys' fees, they were improperly granted. The issue of whether the
selfstorage facility owner was entitled to rent for the time of the appeal was
not addressed. The court refused to remand the case to the trial court but
stated that the owner may institute separate proceedings to resolve the issue.
Comment: The first
executor was a lawful bailee, despite the improper conduct on other scores. The
executor acted as an agent of the estate. There is no injustice in permitting a
lien otherwise recognized by law to apply here. But what about if the depositor
in the storage facility was a thief?
The editor checked the
precedent case cited by the court, a 1929 decision (an innkeeper's case). It
cites to a number of texts and quotes from relevant passages. The bulk of the
authority deals with property bailed to the party who engages the storage. One
passage states that the lien applies to property "lawfully within the
possession of the bailor." But another states specifically that the bailee
(the innkeeper, or in this case the self storage facility) is entitled to the
lien even if the bailor has stolen the property.
The basis for the analysis
is that the bailee is responsible for a duty of care to the owner, and is not
in a position to discern whether the party who presents the goods for bailment
has lawful title to them. Consequently, in the words of the 1929 decision, the
"bailee's lien is commensurate with his duty." Since the service of
bailment is provided, it matters not that the party charged did not in fact ask
for the service.
In sum, when the cops open
that storage locker and there's the TV, Surround Sound receiver, and golf clubs
that got stolen from the rec room two years ago, if the locker's in Illinois
you're not getting that stuff back until you pay for the "safekeeping"
of your goods during the period of storage.
Readers are urged to respond, comment, and argue with the daily
development or the editor's comments about it.
Items in the Daily Development section generally are extracted from the
Quarterly Report on Developments in Real Estate Law, published by the ABA
Section on Real Property, Probate & Trust Law. Subscriptions to the
Quarterly Report are available to Section members only. The cost is nominal.
For the last six years, these Reports have been collated, updated, indexed and
bound into an Annual Survey of Developments in Real Estate Law, volumes 1‑6,
published by the ABA Press. The Annual Survey volumes are available for sale to
the public. For the Report or the Survey, contact Maria Tabor at the ABA. (312)
988 5590 or mtabor@staff.abanet.org
Items reported here and in the ABA publications are for general information
purposes only and should not be relied upon in the course of representation or
in the forming of decisions in legal matters. The same is true of all
commentary provided by contributors to the DIRT list. Accuracy of data and
opinions expressed are the sole responsibility of the DIRT editor and are in no
sense the publication of the ABA.
Parties posting messages to DIRT are posting to a source that is readily
accessible by members of the general public, and should take that fact into
account in evaluating confidentiality issues.
ABOUT DIRT:
DIRT is an Internet discussion group for serious real estate professionals.
Message volume varies, but commonly runs 5 ‑ 10 messages per workday.
Daily Developments are posted every workday.
To subscribe to Dirt, send an e-mail to:
|
To: |
ListServ@listserv.umkc.edu |
|
Subject: |
[Does not matter] |
|
Text in body of message |
Subscribe Dirt [your name] |
To cancel your subscription to Dirt, send an e-mail to:
|
To: |
ListServ@listserv.umkc.edu |
|
Subject: |
[Does not matter] |
|
Text in body of message |
Signoff Dirt |
For information on other commands, send the message Help to the listserv
address.
DIRT has an alternate, more extensive coverage that includes not only
commercial and general real estate matters but also focuses specifically upon
residential real estate matters. Because real estate brokers generally find
this service more valuable, it is named “Brokerdirt.” But residential
specialist attorneys, title insurers, lenders and others interested in the
residential market will want to subscribe to this alternative list. If you
subscribe to Brokerdirt, it is not necessary also to subscribe to DIRT, as
Brokerdirt carries all DIRT traffic in addition to the residential discussions.
To subscribe to Brokerdirt, send an e-mail to:
|
To: |
ListServ@listserv.umkc.edu |
|
Subject: |
[Does not matter] |
|
Text in body of message |
Subscribe Brokerdirt [your name] |
To cancel your subscription to Brokerdirt, send an e-mail to:
|
To: |
ListServ@listserv.umkc.edu |
|
Subject: |
[Does not matter] |
|
Text in body of message |
Signoff Brokerdirt |
DIRT is a service of the American Bar Association Section on Real Property,
Probate & Trust Law and the University of Missouri, Kansas City, School of
Law. Daily Developments are copyrighted by Patrick A. Randolph, Jr., Professor
of Law, UMKC School of Law, but Professor Randolph grants permission for
copying or distribution of Daily Developments for educational purposes,
including professional continuing education, provided that no charge is imposed
for such distribution and that appropriate credit is given to Professor
Randolph, DIRT, and its sponsors.
DIRT has a WebPage at: http://www.umkc.edu/dirt/