## Facts

- Jack A. Schley, Sr. bought improved land near Hamilton, Texas, including a dwelling and an attached garage with a partially dirt floor.
- Schley hired a contractor and crew, including A. M. Couch, to pour concrete over the rear (dirt) portion of the garage floor.
- Because a tractor blade could not reach hardpacked soil along the west wall, Couch was directed to loosen the soil with a pick.
- Couch’s pick struck a hard object; he uncovered $1,000 in well-preserved currency buried in the ground.
- Glass fragments and a jar lid near the money indicated the cash had been buried in a glass jar; the true owner was unknown.
- Couch sued Schley to recover possession of the money and damages.

## Issues

1. How should the buried currency be classified under found-property doctrine (lost, mislaid, or “treasure trove”)?
2. Who has the superior right to possess the currency against the other claimant when the true owner is unknown: the landowner or the finder?

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Texas reversed the court of civil appeals and affirmed the trial court.
- The court held the currency was mislaid property because the circumstances showed intentional placement (burial in a jar), not accidental loss.
- Because the property was mislaid on Schley’s premises, Schley had the superior right to possession as bailee for the true owner.
- The court rejected treating “treasure trove” as a separate category in Texas that would award possession to the finder.

## Legal Principles

- Lost property involves the owner’s involuntary parting with possession through neglect, carelessness, or inadvertence; deliberate concealment is inconsistent with “lost” status.
- Mislaid property is property intentionally placed and later forgotten or not reclaimed; custody is awarded to the owner or occupier of the premises as bailee for the true owner.
- Texas does not recognize “treasure trove” as a distinct doctrine granting the finder priority over the premises owner; disputes are resolved within the lost/mislaid framework.
- A finder who discovers property while working on another’s premises does not obtain a better possessory claim than the premises owner when the property is mislaid.

## Conclusion

The court classified the buried $1,000 as mislaid property and awarded possession to the landowner as bailee for the unknown true owner, rejecting a separate “treasure trove” rule that would have favored the finder.


Schley v. Couch, 284 S.W.2d 333 (Tex. 1955)