## Facts

- State Central Bank repossessed an airplane from a defaulting borrower and later delivered it to Lindner Aviation, Inc. for a routine annual inspection.
- Heath Benjamin, a Lindner employee, removed a wing panel during the inspection and discovered two foil-wrapped packets containing more than $18,000 in older paper currency, tied and wrapped in handkerchiefs, hidden inside the left wing.
- Some wing-panel screws were badly rusted, and the panel appeared not to have been removed for years, suggesting long-term concealment.
- Benjamin initially removed one packet and proposed splitting the money with his supervisor; the supervisor reported the find, and the money was turned over to law enforcement.
- Benjamin filed a claim as “finder” under Iowa Code chapter 644 (lost property). Benjamin, Lindner, and the bank asserted competing claims, and no true owner came forward within twelve months.
- Benjamin brought a declaratory judgment action to determine entitlement to the money.

## Issues

1. Whether Iowa Code chapter 644 applies to all found property or only to “lost” property, leaving common-law classifications intact.
2. Whether the discovered currency was lost, mislaid, abandoned, or treasure trove under common law.
3. If mislaid, whether the relevant “premises” owner was the bank as owner of the airplane or Lindner as owner of the hangar and employer of the finder.
4. Whether a statutory finder’s fee is available when the property is mislaid rather than lost.

## Decision

- The court held chapter 644 governs only lost property and does not displace common-law categories of found property.
- The court classified the concealed currency as mislaid property because it was intentionally placed in a specific hidden location and then forgotten.
- The court awarded possession to State Central Bank as the owner of the “premises” where the mislaid property was found, treating the airplane (not the hangar) as the relevant premises.
- The court denied Benjamin any finder’s fee because the statute’s reward provision applies only to lost property.
- The court reversed the finder’s-fee portion of the judgment and otherwise affirmed the award of possession to the bank.

## Legal Principles

- Iowa’s lost property statute applies only to “lost” property and does not merge or eliminate common-law classifications such as mislaid, abandoned, and treasure trove.
- Property is mislaid when it is intentionally placed in a location and later forgotten; a finder of mislaid property does not acquire superior possessory rights.
- Mislaid property is possessed by the owner of the premises where it is found (as against all but the true owner) because that party is best positioned to facilitate return.
- When mislaid property is concealed within a specific chattel, the chattel’s owner may be treated as the premises owner for purposes of the mislaid-property rule.
- A statutory finder’s fee available for lost property is not available when the property is classified as mislaid.

## Conclusion

The Iowa Supreme Court treated concealed cash found inside a repossessed airplane wing as mislaid property, awarded possession to the airplane’s owner rather than the inspector or maintenance company, and held that Iowa’s lost property statute—along with its finder’s-fee provision—does not apply to mislaid property.


Benjamin v. Lindner Aviation, Inc., 534 N.W.2d 400 (Iowa 1995)