Hilchos Choshen Mishpat

Volume I : Number 20

Items Left In Public Areas

Question:

There are people who leave their possessions in public areas such as schools, Laundromats, swimming pools, and repair shops and do not return to claim them. In order to fulfill the Mitzvah of HaShovas Aveidah (Returning Lost Articles), what are the obligations of the school administrators, shop owners, etc., regarding locating the proper owners and returning the items?

What action can be taken to ensure that in the future they will not be obligated to return every lost item left on their premises, and that they will be permitted to do with the items as they see fit?

Answer:

1. A. If the items that were left have identifying marks, the store owner, etc., may inform the owner of the unclaimed items that if he does not come to claim them within a reasonable period of time (generally one week is sufficient), the items will be disposed of. If he is a repairman and the owner has not been paid for the work that the repairman did to the item, the repairman may inform the owner that he will sell the item, keep the money owed for the repair, and return any additional money to the owner when the owner chooses to come claim the item.

2. To ensure that in the future there is no obligation to track down the owner of every item left on their premises, the store owner or school administrator may post a sign in a noticeable area on their property, stating that they only permit personal possessions to be brought onto their property on condition that after a certain reasonable period of time (for example, after the school year is completed), any lost or unclaimed items will be disposed of, without further notice.

   If they post such a sign, they may do as they see fit with the items, after the stated period of time.

Sources:

Alternatively, the property owner may decide to charge the owner "storage fees," in the form of a certain amount of money, per day that the item remains in his property against his wishes. In this case, once the total amount of the fees equals the total value of the items, the property owner may keep the items for himself. However, the property owner should not assess the value of the item. This determination should be made by three other objective people.

All of the above also applies to items that have been left at a shop or store to be fixed or cleaned, as long as the owner of the item was told that the item must be picked up by a certain time and did not do so.

The advice in Answer B is considered acceptable practice by the majority of Rabbis, although there does not seem to be an explicit source for this in the Gemara and the Shulchan Oruch.

The advice in Answer B seems to apply to all situations, whether the item was left there intentionally or unintentionally. If the items were left there intentionally, the Mitzvah of HaShovas Aveidah does not at all obligate the store owner to return them, since they were never lost. Therefore, the sign informs the owner that the item will be disposed of after a certain period of time, as per the requirement of the Rosh above, and after that time, it is considered like an item placed in someone else's property without permission.

Even if the items were left there unintentionally, in which case it would seem that the store owner would be obligated in the Mitzvah of HaShovas Aveidah, the sign informs the person who owns the items that entrance into this property with personal possessions is conditional on acceptance of the terms mentioned in the sign. Consequently, if the owner does not agree to these conditions, he is trespassing, which is a form of theft. We can therefore assume that if the items are left there for longer than the stated period of time, the owner of the items relinquishes his rights of ownership, even without his knowledge, rather than insist on those rights and violate the prohibition of theft.

This week's class is based on a column by Rabbi Tzvi Shpitz, who is an Av Bet Din and Rosh Kollel in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem. His column originally appears in Hebrew in Toda'ah, a weekly publication in Jerusalem. It has been translated and reprinted here with his permission and approval.

This class is translated and moderated by Rabbi Aaron Tendler of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel in Baltimore. Rabbi Tendler accepts full responsibility for the accuracy of the translation and will be happy to fax originals of the articles in Hebrew to anyone interested.

Feedback is appreciated! It can be sent to atendler@torah.org.

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Please Note: The purpose of this column is to make people aware of Choshen Mishpat situations that can arise at any time, and the Halachic concepts that may be used to resolve them. Each individual situation must be resolved by an objective, competent Bais Din (or Rabbinic Arbitrator) in the presence of all parties involved!