| Court: | WI Supreme Court |
| Facts: | Zech is making rugs out of rags. She finds $2,100 in a ball of rags. Various steps are taken to find the owner, but the statutory requirements are ridiculously stringent. The Ladies Aid Society claims it is theirs. |
| Posture: | Appeal from trial. |
| Issue: | Is Treasure-Trove doctrine a part of lost property law? |
| Holding: | Affirmed: Zech can keep the money. |
| Rule: | There's a distinction between treasure-trove and lost property, so the statute governing lost property doesn't apply. |
| Reasoning: | If the legislature wants to overrule common law, it needs to do so explicitly. The legislature was aware of the doctrine of treasure-trove, and remained silent on the issue. |
| Dicta: | |