Question

Discuss the 3 types of bailments and identify the legal ramifications regarding possession or acquisition and treatment of the bailment?

Answer 1

Answer:

Three types of bailments are:

1) Bailment that benefits both the bailor and the bailee.

2) Bailment that benefits only the bailor.

3) Bailment that benefits only the bailee.

Explanation:

Bailment can be understood as a temporary transfer of the property from one person to another for a given specific time period and also for some specific purpose. There is a difference between bailment and the sale, as in the former the ownership of the property is not transferred. The owner of the property who delivers the property to another person is called bailor, whereas, the person who temporarily receives the property is called bailee.

There are basically three types of bailment:

1) Bailment that benefits both the bailor and the bailee: In this case, both the party benefits in the bailment process. The most suitable example is renting a house for another person for a living. Here, the bailor is benefited as he receives the renting fee and the bailee gets the house for living.

2) Bailment that benefits only the bailor: In this only, the bailor is benefited in the bailment process. The best example is the free car parking service by a valet. The bailor is benefited as he gets the car parking service, but as the service is free, the bailee does not receive any benefit out of it, However, the damage to the car might incur certain liability on the hands of the bailee.

3) Bailment that benefits only the bailee: In this bailment procedure, only the bailee is the one who receives the benefits. The most appropriate example of this is the library system. In the library, the person who borrows the book is the bailee and receives the benefit in the form of a book, whereas, the bailor (library) does not benefit anything out of it.

Some legal ramifications related to the possession and acquisition of the bailment:

If the bailment term is over, then the bailor has the right to reclaim the property from the bailee and bailee has to return it to the bailor. However, if the term is over after a certain fixed period of time and the bailor has not claimed for the property, then the bailee can address the property as abandoned to the bailor.

In other cases, if the bailor has not reclaimed the property or did not make any attempt to do so, and the fixed duration has passed, then in such case, the bailee can claim the property as its own. However, to stay in good faith, the bailee should show the bailor that the property has been abandoned.