"Stan Brown" wrote in message
.. .
In article _nkQa.53204$3o3.3577737@bgtnsc05-
news.ops.worldnet.att.net in misc.consumers, ameijers
wrote:
I use the real plastic milk crates, the kind that say 'misuse
punishable
by law' on the sides. (and no, I don't steal them, I keep finding them in
the dumpsters here at the apartments.)

Understanding that _you_ didn't steal they, they are still stolen
goods, are they not? They still belong to the dairy or the store or
whatever company they were originally stolen from. You don't get
valid title to goods you pick from the trash unless they were thrown
away by someone who actually owned them or had permission from the
owner.

Never claimed that I owned them, just that I rescued them from the trash.
And for all I know, they guy moving out who abandoned them got them legally
from a dairy that downsized or changed names. But yeah, you're right- I'll
go out and track down these distant-city dairies and write them letters, and
see how much they will pay me to send back their 4-dollar milk crates. As a
practical matter, the choice is do I divert this useful object from the
waste stream, or do I let it go to the landfill? Like picking up foam
bobbers from the beach. Not a hard choice. Unless I happened to **** off
the local law and they wanted an excuse, I don't see a lot of legal exposure
here. Reasonable Man test- if it is in the dumpster, and the value is
trivial, one can assume it to be abandoned property. Now if I was to find a
bunch of stuff that appeared to be the results of a robbery, the opposite
assumption would be true- no reasonable person would assume the stuff had
been lawfully abandoned, and I would, as a good citizen, be obligated to
call in the proper authorities. If I did find a stack of virginal crates
with local markings, I would give them a call. But beat up onesie-twosies
from far away?
(Hell, the cops don't even bother to return found property around here. At
the local auction, they sell mailboxes with the NAME and address on them,
and phones with the numbers attached, and cable boxes with 'property of XYZ
cable co.' stamped right on the bottom.)

aem sends...