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- Gunslinger
- Rep: 88
Re: Contractor, Owner fighting over hidden cash
Contractor, owner feud over hidden cash Wed Dec 12, 10:42 PM ET
CLEVELAND - A contractor who helped discover bundles of Depression-era U.S. currency totaling $182,000 hidden behind bathroom walls said the homeowner should turn the money over to him or at least share it.
Bob Kitts said his feud with the owner of the 83-year house, a former high school classmate, has deteriorated to the point where they speak to each other only through lawyers.
Kitts said his lawyer has drafted a lawsuit that he hopes will force Amanda Reece to turn over the money she has kept.
Most of the currency, issued in 1927 and 1929, is in good condition, and some of the bills are so rare that one currency appraiser valued the treasure at up to $500,000, Kitts said.
Reece accuses Kitts of extortion.
The fight began in May 2006 when Kitts was gutting Reece's bathroom and found a box below the medicine cabinet that contained $25,200.
"I almost passed out," Kitts recalled. "It was the ultimate contractor fantasy."
He called Reece, who rushed home. Together they found another steel box tied to the end of a wire nailed to a stud. Inside was more than $100,000, Kitts said. Two more boxes were filled with a mix of money and religious memorabilia.
"It was insane," Kitts said. "She was in shock '” she was a wreck."
The bundles had "P. Dunne" written on them, a likely reference to Peter Dunne, a businessman who owned the home during the Depression.
Kitts said he took some of the currency for an appraisal and learned that many of the $10 bills were rare 1929-series Cleveland Federal Reserve bank notes, worth about $85 each. There also were $500 bills and one $1,000 bill.
John Chambers, an attorney for Reece, said Kitts rejected his client's offer of a 10 percent finder's fee and demanded 40 percent of the small fortune.
Reece has no intention of backing down in the face of what she considers a shakedown, Chambers said.
Kitts asserts he found lost money, and court rulings in Ohio establish that a "finders keepers" law applies if there's no reason to believe any owner will reappear to claim it.
It may be up to a judge to decide, said Heidi Robertson, a professor who teaches property law at Cleveland State University.
Kitts said it would be unfair for him to take everything.
"For such a happy, exciting adventure, I can't believe it just went to heck like this," he said.
___
Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com
Greedy bastards! These guys could share it (which is probably the best thing to do considering it would have did neither of them any good if the contractor hadn't found it) and be 1/4 million richer for Xmas instead of screwing up a friendship.
- Gunslinger
- Rep: 88
Re: Contractor, Owner fighting over hidden cash
well up here iin canada, whever owns the building owns all contents as well, as far as i'm concerned the contractor has no rights to the money, if not for the owner he wouldnt have even discovered it anyway
I can definitely see this side as well. When you own something you should own its contents as well, therefore the money would be part of the house that was purchased. The only thing that makes me see the contractor's side is the fact of where and how the money was located. Had it not been found by the contractor chances are it would have never been found, at least not in the lifetime of the current homeowner. With that said I don't think the contractor was being that unreasonable to ask for a 10 percent share. Especially being the two are friends. Should be interesting to see what happens but going strictly by what I think is lawfully right I would have to say the homeowner should keep the money. If I was going by morales, give your buddy 10 percent who found it for you and be happy. I'm not sure how the "finders keepers" law works but this will probably be the key to how this will play out.
Re: Contractor, Owner fighting over hidden cash
well up here iin canada, whever owns the building owns all contents as well, as far as i'm concerned the contractor has no rights to the money, if not for the owner he wouldnt have even discovered it anyway
I agree, but i think the contractor deserves some. Maybe not all, but he's only asking for 40%. I would think more like 25% but I think, considering the value of about $500,000, I'd part with 40%. Plus, they could have kept it on the downlow, not told anyone, not paid taxes on it. Now, after taxes and legal/attorney fees, they'll both end up with less than 100k cash.
Re: Contractor, Owner fighting over hidden cash
so if the contractor walked into the guys closet and found some clothes could he take those too, or maybe he happened accross your wife's jewlery box?
the cash belongs to the owner, plain & simple...if anybody here hired some dude to renovate your home and he found something at your place of value when he started demolition, who would it belong to?
Re: Contractor, Owner fighting over hidden cash
so if the contractor walked into the guys closet and found some clothes could he take those too, or maybe he happened accross your wife's jewlery box?
the cash belongs to the owner, plain & simple...if anybody here hired some dude to renovate your home and he found something at your place of value when he started demolition, who would it belong to?
True, but A. He did call her, and tell her about his find. He could have just taken it, knowing she never knew it was there. But also, B. They were friends!! From childhood. How could she not split it?! Just a little bit. I'd give him the $25,000 box, and keep the $100,000 box.
I agree, it's her house, IMHO legally it should be hers, but we're finding out the state law is it might belong to whoever finds it, if the original owner cannot claim it. Also how about a little compensation for a finders fee. Just a little something, amongst friends. Help a brother out. 
- DoubleTalkingJive
- Rep: 74
Re: Contractor, Owner fighting over hidden cash
It's definitely the homeowners.
What I'd do in good faith is give him a couple bills for finding it, at least one that is rare. Like giving a good tip when someone doing work for you does a great job.
Re: Contractor, Owner fighting over hidden cash
well helping someone out is different, you dont have a leg to stand on as far as legalities go...anyway IMO he was obliged to tell her, its her property, even if she woulda been none the wiser, it would still be stealing from her, like i said up here we have a standard contract which people sign when they hire a contractor to start a job...and it lays all this stuff out legally with lawyers and everything
