Issue
Did the resort have the duty to exercise bailment when the plaintiff voluntarily gave her property
to the front desk agent for a temporary hold?
Brief Answer
Yes. The state court provides that in order to establish bailment the bailee must have physical
possession of the chattel and must intend to exercise control. The bailee obtains the chattel
temporarily, who does not own the property, and must intend to accept the responsibility of
reasonable care for the chattel.
Facts
Esther King had a pair of Dolce & Gabbana “blooming” sunglasses. She cherished the
sunglasses since they were gifted to her from her favorite aunt and cost over $1,000. While on
vacation at the Sunny Days Resort in Virginia Beach, Va Esther enjoyed wearing her sunglasses
by the pool while reading the latest books.
The day before Esther went back home she had dinner reservations at the restaurant near the
hotel lobby with some long-time friends. Prior to the dinner reservations Esther was at the pool
and she did not want to take her sunglasses to her room before dinner. She explained her reason
to evening shift front desk agent Alex. He agreed and Esther gave her sunglasses to him. Esther
watched Alex walk the sunglasses to the back area where she knew her glasses would be secured.
Esther left the sunglasses with Alex and enjoyed her dinner with her friends. Esther and her
friends stayed at the restaurant until closing. Although it was late she wanted to pick up her
sunglasses from the front desk. When she got to the lobby no one was on duty so she proceeded
to her room. The next morning, while Esther was checking out she advised the morning shift
front desk agent Carson that she gave her sunglasses to Alex the evening prior and he put them in
the vault. Carson went to the back office to check the vault and when he came back the manager
was with him, they both advised Esther that her sunglasses were not in the vault and they were
not able to locate them. Esther left the resort heartbroken and irate over her valuable sunglasses.
A week later the hotel manager called Esther to let her know he watched the security footage
from the day her sunglasses went missing. The manager advised her that Alex did place the
sunglasses in the vault, but he went back to the vault later that evening to retrieve the sunglasses
and handed them to his friend. Alex never returned to work after that evening and the manager
was unable to find Alex and the sunglasses.
Discussion
• Possession of Chattel
• In order to have lawful possession of chattel the bailee must have physical control
of the property. Morris v. Hamilton, 302 S.E. 2d 51 (Va. 1983). To do this there
must be a delivery by the bailor and the acceptance by the bailee. Id. Possession
does not require formal or actual meetings of the minds to establish the
relationship. Id.
• Broadly defined, bailment is the rightful possession of goods by the one who is
not the owner. K-B Corp. v. Gallagher, 237 S.E. 2d 183 (Va. 1977). When the
owner relinquishes the property, they are giving permissions to the person who
accepts possession of the chatel. Id. Once in possession of the chattel the bailee
exercises physical control. Id.
Esther was the owner and had physical control over the Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, after her
pool visit she advised Alex about her dilemma. When Alex understood what Esther was
requesting he agreed to place sunglasses in the resort's vault. When Esther gave her sunglasses to
Alex she relinquished the chattel from the bailor to the bailee in which the bailee now has
possession of the chattel. No mutual agreement between the two needed to be established for the
bailee and bailor relationship, because Alex accepted the possession of chatel.
• Exercise of Physical Control Over the Chattel
• Physical control coupled with an intent to exercise control over the good
constitutes possession. Handelsgesellschaft v. Sheridan Transp. Co., 800 F.Supp.
1359 (E.D. Va. 1992). Since the defendant did have control over the cargo a duty
to account for the thing as property of another was necessary. Id. Although
physical control over the chattel was established no contractual terms were
negotiated and no meeting of the minds were established between the plaintiff and
defendant the court could not find bailment in this case. Id.
• It is the duty of the bailee to exercise care for the property of the bailor, once the
bailee accepts the property. Zurich American Ins. Co. v. Public Storage, 743
F.Supp. 2d 525 (E.D. Va. 2010). "Negligently failing to supervise and safeguard
the property in its possession, custody and control"; and “negligently concealing
and failing to timely notify” leads to "failing to fulfill its obligation as
warehouseman and bailee to deliver bailed goods to a person entitled to them. Id.
Once he received the sunglasses he had physical control of the chattel. Even though a person has
physical control over another's chattel some terms have to be established before the courts can
find bailment. Handelsgesellschaft v. Sheridan Transp. Co., 800 F.Supp. 1359 (E.D. Va. 1992).
Before Alex accepted the chattel it was understood between both parties that Esther was giving
her property to him to place it in the vault and exercise his duty of care. Bailee can breach a duty
by failing "to exercise the required duty of care to prevent the damage or loss of the bailed
property." Id. Alex breached his duty of care when he neglected to advise Esther he removed her
sunglasses from the vault. Alex was aware of where Esther was dining and he did not attempt to
find her. Instead he took the item, gave it to his friend and was never heard from again.
Conclusion
In conclusion the court of Virginia is likely to find that bailment occurs when two elements are
met. The owner of the chattel must temporarily relinquish possession to the bailor and the bailor
must exercise physical control of the chattel including a duty of ordinary care towards the
property. When a bailee has physical control over another's chattel, no physical contract is
required but the bailee takes accountability of the item until it is returned to its owner. The court
believes that if a bailee accepts personal property from the bailor and the bailee fails to provide
ordinary care of chattel leading to damage or loss of property then bailment is affirmed.
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