Alabama Attorney General Opinion 1979-0040

# THE ATTORNEY GENERAL STATE OF ALABAMA · MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA 36130 79-00040 January 25, 1979 File #34 CHARLES A. GRADDICK ATTORNEY GENERAL Honorable Fitzhugh A. Burttram District Attorney Thirtieth Judicial Circuit Post Office Box 404 Pell City, Alabama 35125 Lost Property - Salvaged Automobiles Finders of stolen automobiles are entitled to be compensated for reasonable expenses only. Dear Mr. Burttram: This office has received your opinion request of October 26, 1978 in which you ask whether the operations of the Underwater Recovery & Engineering Corporation and its two shareholders in recovering stolen automobiles from strip pits and then charging unreasonable fees to the owners were legal. The answer to your question appears to be that the owners' sole remedy is a civil action to recover any overpayment made to the finder. The situation you describe in your request, recovering abandoned stolen automobiles, is not covered by salvage laws but rather is covered by Code of Alabama 1975, § 35-12-1 through § 35-12-6. This chapter deals with lost or unclaimed property and has been applied to the recovery of stolen automobiles. See, Automobile Insurance Company of Hartford v. Kirby, 25 Ala. App. 245, 114 So. 123 (1932). Under the provisions of this statute the finder, the corporation in this instance, who takes charge of the lost property is entitled to reasonable expenses incurred in the course of recovering and preserving the property and can, if the owner refuses to pay the expenses, sell the property. A case such as you describe, where the finder is asking for unreasonable expenses, would seem to be a purely civil matter. In the only appellate case decided under this statute, Automobile Insurance Company v. Kirby, supra., the finder, Kirby, refused to return a stolen automobile unless he was paid a storage fee Honorable Fitzhugh A. Burttram January 25, 1979 Page Two plus a $50.00 reward. The insurer in that case paid the requested expenses and then sued to recover the $50.00 claiming that it was an overpayment. The Court of Appeals held that the insurer was entitled to recover the $50.00 as it was not part of the reasonable expenses incurred by the finder. This situation is remarkably like that in the case you describe and the same result should be reached. If the expenses claimed by the corporation are in fact unreasonable then the insurer would be entitled to recover any money paid beyond reasonable expenses. I hope that this fully answers your question. If this office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Very truly yours, CHARLES A. GRADDICK Attorney General By- John Gibbs JOHN GIBBS Assistant Attorney General JG:dd