Also known as: custody · bailment
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The act of protecting or holding property or persons in one's custody or control. The holder owes a duty of reasonable care to preserve the item or individual from harm or loss during the period of safekeeping.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Sofia Stern left her laptop with a hotel front desk for temporary holding. A guest took the laptop from the desk without permission and carried it away. The taking occurred while the laptop remained under the desk's safekeeping arrangement.
Sterling Dynamics held engineering drawings in its secure vault. In its initial disclosures, the company listed the drawings by category and location because they remained in its safekeeping and could support its defense.
Police took Simon Stern from his home and drove him to the station for questioning. The transport placed Stern in the officers' safekeeping and functioned as an arrest requiring probable cause.
A State A court issued a custody determination placing Selena Singh's child with her former spouse. The order bound all persons properly served because the child remained in the court's safekeeping jurisdiction.
After separation, Spencer Silver sought custody of the couple's child. The court evaluated the child's best interests while the child stayed in the temporary safekeeping of a neutral guardian during proceedings.
After her husband's death, Sophia Singh received a monthly family allowance from the estate. The payments supported her and the minor children while the estate assets remained in the personal representative's safekeeping during administration.
Yes. A person who assumes safekeeping of property must use reasonable care to preserve it from loss or damage during the period of custody.
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Safekeeping ends when the owner recovers and accepts the goods. Recovery reduces the owner's damages for conversion by the value of the returned items.
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Yes. A bailee who stores goods assumes safekeeping duties and may be liable for conversion if the goods are wrongfully disposed of during the bailment.
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…to perform them without the control of any person. While the Secretary remains in office the President cannot take from his custody the seal of the United States nor prevent him from recording and affixing the seal to civil commissions of such officers as do not hold their offices at the will of the President after the…