HAWKINS V. MAHONEY 990 P.2d 776 (1999) CASE BRIEF

HAWKINS V. MAHONEY

990 P.2d 776 (1999)

NATURE OF THE CASE: Hawkins (P) appealed the dismissal of his lawsuit to recover the value of his personal property from Mahoney (Ds).

FACTS: P is an inmate in prison. P escaped from the prison. Immediately following his escape, Prison officials packed up Ps' personal property, sealed it with security tape, placed P's name on each box and removed the boxes from his cell. The personal property was placed in the Montana State Prison storage room on July 12, 1997. On July 14, 1997, two days after Hawkins escaped, P was apprehended and returned to the prison. P was placed in the maximum security unit. On July 20, 1997, P was found guilty of escape. The disciplinary hearings officer did not order P's personal property destroyed. During the next 30 days P requested the return of his personal property several times. In September 1997 prison officials escorted P to the storage room and allowed him to remove all of his legal papers and legal materials from the boxes of his personal property. They then informed P that, by policy, when an inmate escapes, all of his property is considered abandoned and is subsequently destroyed. Ds then informed P that his remaining personal property would either be destroyed or sold. The manifest included: a television, stereo, word processor, eyeglasses and books. P estimated their value at $2290. Sometime after September 1997, D destroyed or sold the personal property. P sued Ds. Ds filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The District Court granted the motion to dismiss. It concluded that P had abandoned his property by his escape and that the abandonment constituted a complete defense. P appealed.

ISSUE:

RULE OF LAW:

HOLDING AND DECISION:

LEGAL ANALYSIS:

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