1 CA-CV 11-0148
The Court of Appeals, State of Arizona 2012
FACTS: The petitioners before the State of Court are Karen Spann Grande (daughter of Robert Spann and the representative of the Spann estate) and Kim Spann (another daughter of Robert Spann). The Respondents before the court are Sarina Jennings and Clinton McCallum, the newest owners of Robert Spann’s estate. Jennings and McCallum hired Trinidad Builders Inc. to do work on the estate. The head of this contracting company is Randy Bueghly and one of the key employees in this case is Rafael Cuen who found the money left behind by Mr. Spann.
Rafael Cuen discovered the $500,000 cash in the walls of the home and reported it to his boss Randy, who decided to keep the money. Cuen then …show more content…
DECISION: There were no facts that lead the court to believe that the estate intended to relinquish any valuables that may have been hidden in the house. Therefore, the appeals court ruled in favor of the estate.
RATIONALE: The money could have been categorized 1 of 4 ways. Mislaid, lost, abandoned or treasure trove. Property is mislaid if the owner intentionally places it in a certain place and later forgets about it. Lost property includes property the owner unintentionally parts with through either carelessness or neglect. Abandoned property has been voluntarily given up or given away by its owner. Treasurer trove property is property that is so old that its owner is no longer alive. Mislaid property can be kept by the owner of the premises of which it is found unless there is a true owner which in this case was proven to be the Spann estate. Since the sisters were unaware there were still items of value in the house when it was sold, it was determined that the found cash could be categorized as mislaid