Fischer v. Herman

63 Mis. 2d 44, 310 NY.S.2d 270 (1970)

From our private database of 47,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Fischer v. Herman

New York City Civil Court
63 Mis. 2d 44, 310 NY.S.2d 270 (1970)

  • Written by Tom Squier, JD

Facts

In May 1966, the wife of Donald Fisher (plaintiff) gave a fur coat to Milton Herman (defendant) for storage. After accepting the coat, Herman mailed a receipt to Fischer’s wife, which noted the value of the coat as $100. Fischer’s wife did not consent to that valuation. Herman stored the coat on a rack in his factory, along with other coats held for storage. Herman stored coats that he had manufactured in a vault. When Fischer’s wife demanded the return of the coat in October 1966, the coat was missing. Fischer sued Herman for breach of a bailment contract. At trial, Herman claimed that the coat had been stolen during a burglary, but Herman had not been present at the time of the burglary and was relaying the account of an employee who did not testify. Herman’s place of business had a complex system of alarms, but those alarms were not triggered on the alleged night of the burglary. Testimony from an expert witness gave a value of $1,140 for the coat. Herman argued that he had exercised due care in storing the coat and that damages, if any, should be limited to $100.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning ()

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 967,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 967,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,500 briefs, keyed to 1,007 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
  • AI-generated podcast version of every brief — listen on the go, between classes, or whenever reading isn’t an option. New

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 967,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 47,500 briefs - keyed to 1,007 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Sales

Key Terms

  • HearsayAn out-of-court statement offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted in the statement.
  • BailmentA relationship by which possession and control of property is temporarily delivered to another for safekeeping.
  • NegligenceConduct that falls below the expected standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised under like circumstances.
  • Due CareThe care that a reasonable person would exercise under similar circumstances. It is a standard for determining legal duty.
  • BaileeSomeone to whom a bailor gives possession of personal property under the terms of an express or implied agreement, including that the property must eventually be returned.
  • Due DiligenceThe amount of effort a reasonable person would engage in or care he would exercise in a particular situation.
  • BailorOne who gives possession of personal property to another, a bailee, for its care or safekeeping.

Related Videos

Understand your casebook readings in seconds

Use our case briefs to comprehend your casebook readings faster, supplement your notes and outlines, and outshine your peers in class.

Get instant access to over 47,500+ expert-written case briefs in a searchable database keyed to 1,007 law school casebooks.

Case book preview
Start your free 7-day trial