Equal Interests

"This case concerns two salvage operations that each claim exclusive rights to an abandoned, sunken ship. Usually the court would identify one or the other as having obtained first possession, and thus ownership, of the abandoned property. However, where it would be inequitable to award the property entirely to one party, the court should, proceeding in equity, recognize the equal strength of the parties’ claims by awarding equal rights in the disputed property. B’s claim stems from the incomplete acts he took toward possession. Possession is defined, generally, as the intent to appropriate an object as one’s own combined with an adequate physical manifestation of that intent. What sort of physical act is required depends on the circumstances, and in particular what acts will unambiguously alert others of the possessor’s claim. In this context, clear marking, such as placing a salvage boat over the wreck would be enough. Here, however, B placed buoys and marked trees on the shore. The buoys broke free and the markings were inadequate clearly to identify the wreck as the salvage operation of B. B did not do enough to obtain possession. However, the physical act of possession is a process, not an instantaneous occurrence, and B took substantial steps toward possession. He located and marked, after much research and toil, the location of a wreck that had, despite its valuable cargo, not been salvaged after nearly three decades at the bottom of the Mississippi River. Though he did not immediately begin salvage operations, this case would not have arisen but for a prudent delay caused by season rises in water levels. If the law required salvage in unsafe conditions in order to guarantee the fruits of the labor and toil of discovery, loss of life and damage to property might result. We believe that B did enough to earn the right to obtain possession - an interest that would protect his ability to salvage without requiring him to engage in hasty and perilous recovery operations. On the other hand, E did nothing wrong. The facts demonstrate he found the wreck without making use of any of B’s markings. E put his boat over the wreck and did everything the law requires to obtain title through possession. Their claims being of equal quality and weight, E and B should be awarded equal interests in the salvage."