Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
T

The State of Florida, by and through Richard W. Ervin, as Attorney General of the State of Florida, et al. v. The Massachusetts Company, a Corporation

95 So. 2d 902 (1956)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

The State of Florida, by and through Richard W. Ervin, as Attorney General of the State of Florida, et al. v. The Massachusetts Company, a Corporation

Florida Supreme Court
95 So. 2d 902 (1956)

KL

Facts

The United States battleship the Massachusetts was sunk off the coast of Florida in the Gulf of Mexico in 1922 after being used for target practice. Over the years, it became a popular fishing site due to marine life making homes in and around the shipwreck. In 1956, the Massachusetts Company (TMC) (defendant) secured a navigational permit from the United States Corps of Engineers to recover artifacts from the ship and started the salvaging process by marking the shipwreck’s location in the water with buoys and lines. The State of Florida, by and through Richard W. Ervin as attorney general (Florida) (plaintiff) filed for a temporary injunction and declaration that the Massachusetts belonged to Florida. The court declared that the shipwreck had been abandoned by the United States and that Florida had failed to establish a right of ownership sufficient to overrule TMC’s ownership under the law of abandoned personal property, ruling for TMC. Florida appealed, arguing that the state had adopted English common law holding that abandoned or derelict goods in the sea were the property of the government unless an owner claimed them within a year and a day and that this law applied to determine ownership of the Massachusetts.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Roberts, J.)

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 832,000 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 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 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
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 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

Archaeology

Key Terms