Also known as: lost property
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
3 senses
A mental incapacity in which a defendant has lost the ability to recognize that society regards his conduct as wrong. This loss prevents an acquittal under the M'Naghten rule even if the defendant subjectively believes his actions are morally right.
A mental incapacity in which a defendant has lost the ability to recognize that society regards his conduct as wrong. This loss prevents an acquittal under the M'Naghten rule even if the defendant subjectively believes his actions are morally right.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Property or rights that are beyond the owner's possession and control or have been terminated by abandonment, damage, or other events. The owner no longer holds the interest or the item after the loss occurs.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
An original writing, recording, or photograph that is no longer available because it has been lost or destroyed without bad faith by the proponent. Secondary evidence of its content then becomes admissible.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Property or rights that are beyond the owner's possession and control or have been terminated by abandonment, damage, or other events. The owner no longer holds the interest or the item after the loss occurs.
An original writing, recording, or photograph that is no longer available because it has been lost or destroyed without bad faith by the proponent. Secondary evidence of its content then becomes admissible.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Lorenzo Lugo shoots a neighbor he believes is evil. At trial he testifies that he thought the act was morally justified. The jury finds he still understood that society condemns murder. Because he has not lost the capacity to recognize societal condemnation, the M'Naghten defense fails and he is convicted.
No. The defendant must also have lost the capacity to recognize that society regards the conduct as wrong. A mere subjective belief that the act is morally right is insufficient for acquittal.
Supporting sources
Linden Logistics ships conforming goods to Lattice Systems. Risk of loss passes upon delivery. The goods are destroyed in a warehouse fire the next day. Lattice Systems refuses to pay. Linden Logistics recovers the full contract price because the goods were conforming and were lost after risk passed to the buyer.
Lola Langley operates a machine shop that became nonconforming after rezoning. She closes the shop for five years and converts the building to storage. The city later enforces the zoning ordinance. Langley's right to continue the nonconforming use is lost through discontinuance for the statutory period.
Lila Lin authorizes Landon Long to sell her warehouse. Before any sale, Lin transfers the warehouse to a third party. Because Lin has lost her interest in the subject matter, Long's authority to affect that interest terminates automatically.
Lily Lopez is arrested and questioned without receiving warnings. Her statements are used at trial. Because the constitutional protections were not enforced at the time of questioning, the practical value of those rights is lost and the statements are suppressed.
The seller may recover when the goods were accepted or were conforming goods lost or damaged after risk of loss passed to the buyer. The seller must hold any remaining goods for the buyer.
Supporting sources
The right may be lost through abandonment, discontinuance for the statutory period, or amortization ordinances requiring termination after a reasonable time. Protection of vested rights limits immediate elimination by the municipality.
Supporting sources
Liam Larson sues Legacy Motors over a written warranty. The original contract is destroyed in a flood without any bad faith by Larson. The court admits Larson's testimony describing the warranty terms because the original is lost and secondary evidence is therefore admissible.
Secondary evidence is admissible if all originals are lost or destroyed and the loss was not caused by the proponent acting in bad faith. The rule removes the requirement to produce the original.
Supporting sources
…that some scholars doubt that the common law ever was applied to abortion; that the English ecclesiastical courts seem to have lost interest in the problem after 1527; and that the preamble to the English legislation of 1803, 43 Geo. 3, c. 58, § 1, referred to in the text, infra , at 136, states that "no adequate means…