BAILMENT

I.      DEFINITIONS.

A bailment is a delivery of a thing in trust for some special object or purpose with the understanding, expressed or implied, that the person receiving it shall return it when that purpose has been fulfilled. A bailor is one who makes a bailment or delivers goods to a bailee. A bailee is a person who receives goods of another to hold according to the purpose of delivery.

II.      BAILOR AND BAILEE.

        A.     CREATION OF RELATIONSHIP.

To create this relationship the property must be delivered to the bailee. Thus if A takes her car to a mechanic to remain overnight, the garage owner becomes a bailee for hire. The contract of bailment also exists when a man takes a suit of clothes to a tailor shop to be altered, or when a business takes original documents to a shop to be reproduced.

        B.     THE BAILEE'S RESPONSIBILITY/DUTIES.

                1.     LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY.

A bailee can limit liability by agreement, provided the limitation is not in violation of law or public policy and does not excuse him from negligence or fraud on his part. He becomes the custodian of the goods and is generally required to exert reasonable care against accident or loss resulting from the nature of the goods stored. For example, if a truckload of fruit arrives at a cold-storage plant, the owner is not responsible for any loss due to the condition of the fruit when it arrived. On the other hand, if an employee of the storage company negligently allows the goods to spoil, the owner of the fruit can recover from the storage company. Suppose your bank grants you the privilege of keeping a strongbox in the bank building without paving the normal charges. The bank, of course, is not bound to exercise as much care as a regular safety deposit company, but it is required to take reasonable precaution, that is, as much care as it uses to protect its own property. Suppose a cashier steals the box. Would the bank be liable to you for the loss? If the bank exercised reasonable care, and if the cashier were a long-trusted employee against whom there was no cause for suspicion, the bank would not be held responsible.

                2.     BAILEE's DUTY.

The bailee is usually a keeper only. However, if he or she is keeping livestock, he must supply the food necessary to the animals' good condition. Milk cows must be properly milked; and in case,of sickness animals must be given proper medical care and attention. In every case the bailee is required to exercise reasonable care for the goods in the bailment.

        C.     THE BAILOR's RESPONSIBILITY.

The bailor must pay any reasonable charges incurred in the maintenance and preservation of the goods in the bailment. He must also pay for any services rendered pertaining to the purpose of the bailment, such as fees for storing a car or charges for the services of a cleaner or tailor. If the bailor is unwilling or unable to pay such charges the bailee may keep the goods of the bailment as a lien until full payment is made.