## Facts

- The S.S. Central America sank off the U.S. East Coast in 1857 during a hurricane, carrying a substantial shipment of California gold and other cargo.
- In 1988, Columbus-America Discovery Group located the wreck and began recovering gold bars, coins, and artifacts.
- Columbus-America filed an admiralty in rem action in the Eastern District of Virginia seeking title under the law of finds or, alternatively, a substantial salvage award under the law of salvage.
- Marine insurers asserted they had paid cargo losses in the 1850s and, through subrogation, retained ownership interests in the recovered cargo.
- Intervenors (including Columbia University, Harry G. John, and Jack F. Grimm) claimed Columbus-America misused their proprietary sonar survey information and sought a share of the recovery.
- After a bench trial, the district court found the insurers had abandoned any ownership interest and awarded Columbus-America title under the law of finds; it also rejected the intervenors’ claims and limited their discovery due to late intervention.

## Issues

1. What evidentiary showing is required to establish abandonment of long-lost maritime property claimed by identifiable owners or subrogated insurers.
2. Whether recovery of the Central America cargo should be governed by the law of finds (title to finder of abandoned property) or the law of salvage (reward for rescue without transfer of title).
3. Whether the district court abused its discretion by allowing intervention but limiting discovery, and whether the intervenors proved entitlement to a share based on alleged misuse of their data.

## Decision

- The Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s abandonment finding and remanded for proceedings consistent with the proper abandonment standard.
- The court held the evidence did not support abandonment because abandonment requires a clear, intentional relinquishment, not mere passage of time or missing records.
- The court held that, absent abandonment, the matter should proceed under the law of salvage rather than the law of finds; Columbus-America could receive a generous salvage award but not automatic title.
- The court affirmed the rejection of the intervenors’ substantive claims, concluding the record did not show Columbus-America used their sonar data to locate the wreck.
- The court acknowledged concerns about limiting discovery after intervention but determined any procedural error did not warrant relief on the intervenors’ claims given the evidentiary record.

## Legal Principles

- Abandonment of property requires proof of intentional relinquishment; it is not established by long inaction, inability to locate the property, or loss/destruction of ownership documentation without evidence of intent.
- The law of finds is exceptional and generally applies only when property is abandoned or when no owner can be identified.
- When an identifiable owner (including a subrogated insurer) retains rights and abandonment is not proven, the law of salvage governs; the salvor earns a salvage award reflecting factors such as risk, skill, expense, and value recovered, but does not take title by default.
- Courts should avoid drawing dispositive negative inferences from routine archival loss or incomplete historical records to infer abandonment of valuable property interests.
- A claimant alleging entitlement based on proprietary search information must prove actual misuse and a causal connection to the successful location and recovery.

## Conclusion

The Fourth Circuit required clear evidence of intentional abandonment before applying the law of finds to shipwreck cargo and, because abandonment was not proven, directed that recovery be treated under salvage principles while leaving Columbus-America eligible for a substantial salvage award and rejecting intervenors’ unproven data-misuse claims.


Columbus-America Discovery Grp. v. Atl. Mut. Ins. Co., 974 F.2d 450 (4th Cir. 1992)