Ghen v. RichU.S. district court, Mass., 1881

(federal law, trial court, another old case)

Location in Course Outline
· Acquisition by First Succession
o Acquisition by capture
§ Capture on public lands
· Exception to rule: Limited custom affecting few people

Parties
· Original Plaintiff: Ghen, Whale killer
· Original Defendant: Rich, Whale purchaser
Facts
· Whale killing
o Ghen, who was in the fishing business of killing fin-back whales, shot and immediately killed the relevant whale using a bomb-lance. It sunk.
· Whale finding
o Then three days later ended up on a beach where a guy named Ellis found the whale
· Whale selling
o Instead of notifying Ghen, he auctioned it off to the highest bidder, who was Rich. Rich extracted the blubber to use for oil and sold it.
· Constructive Notice
o Though neither Ellis nor Rich knew that Ghen killed the whale they knew, or should have known, then it was killed by a whale killer in the...