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47.3 Bailment The Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, d.b.a. St.
Elizabeth Hospital of Beaumont, operates a health and wellness center.
Phil Meaux was a paying member of the health center. The rules of the
center, which Meaux had been given, state, “The Health & Wellness
Center is not responsible for lost or stolen items.” A sign stating, “We
cannot assure the safety of your valuables” was posted at the check-in
desk. The wellness center furnished a lock and key to each member but
had a master key to open lockers in case a member forgot or lost his or
her key.
One day, Meaux went to the wellness center and placed his clothes, an
expensive Rolex watch, and a money clip with $400 cash in the locker
assigned him. Upon returning from swimming, Meaux discovered that
his locker had been pried open, and his watch and money had been
stolen by some unknown person. Meaux sued the Sisters of Charity,
alleging that a bailment had been created between him and the Sisters
and that the Sisters, as ba ilee, were negligent and therefore liable to him
for the value of his stolen property. The trial court held in favor of
Meaux and awarded him $19,500 as the value of the stolen property,
plus interest and attorneys’ fees. The Sisters of Charity appealed. Was a
bailment created between Meaux and the Sisters of Charity? Who wins?
Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word v. Meaux, 122 S.W.3d 428,
Web 2003 Tex. App. Lexis 10189 (Court of Appeals of Texas)
47.6 Abandoned Property Police officers of the city of Miami, Florida,
responded to reports of a shooting at the apartment of Carlos Fuentes.
Fuentes had been shot in the neck and shoulder, and shortly after the
police arrived, he was removed to a hospital. In an ensuing search of the
apartment, the police found assorted drug paraphernalia, a gun, and cash
in the amount of $58,591. The property was seized, taken to the police
station, and placed in custody. About nine days later, the police learned
that Fuentes had been discharged from the hospital. All efforts by police
to locate Fuentes and his girlfriend, a co-occupant of Fuentes’s
apartment, were unsuccessful. Neither Fuentes nor his girlfriend ever
came forward to claim any of the items taken by the police from his