Ghen v. Rich
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
8 F. 159 (1881)
- Written by Dennis Chong, JD
Facts
Finback whales, as opposed to other whales, sink when killed, then float back to the surface one to three days later and are often located far from where they were killed. The custom of the Cape Cod area at the time of this case was such that a person who found the body of a finback whale sent word to Provincetown, and the whaler sent someone to the whale to remove the blubber. A small fee was granted to the finder of the whale. Ghen (plaintiff) killed a finback whale for commercial purposes. Several days later, Ellis found the whale and, contrary to custom, sold it at auction to Rich (defendant), who harvested the blubber and oil from the whale carcass. Ghen sued Rich seeking to recover the value of the whale.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Nelson, J.)
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