Cash in the walls

[billf]

Contractor, Owner Feud Over Hidden Cash:
Link to article

I totally side with the homeowner on this.  The owners even offered 10% to the contractor and he said no. 

[Hoopz]

You better go rip up your walls to look for cash!  Tell your wife that it will make you rich.   

Definitely agree with the homeowner.  Once she bought the house, all things in it, both good and bad, belong to her.  Doubt he would be offering to pay for 40% of any other problems they found behind the wall....

[SithMaster]

If the contractor wins just counter sue for damage to home.

How can finders keepers apply when it is something in your home?  Even if it was hidden in the walls he wouldnt of found it if she didnt have him over to remodel the bathroom or whatever.  What a jerk.

[btp2k2]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

[SithMaster]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

I get it 

[shardian]

Wow. Just...wow. First off, I would NEVER allow a contractor to touch the inside of my house unless I was present.

Anyways, I totally agree that the stuff was on her property and inside her house. Therefor the contractor has absolutely zero claim to it. Damn, suppose I walk into your house, look under the couch and find a safe. "Hey, I found a safe! You had lost it and I found it so its mine!".

It was at least honest of the fellow to actually call the owner and let her know. I would just like to know where along the line he got the idea he was entitled to HER personal property? Did some scumsucking lawyer put the bug in his ear or what? A 10% finders fee was MORE than fair.

[AtomSmasher]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

I get it 

There's always money in the banana stand.

[vizzinni]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

I get it 

There's always money in the banana stand.

didn't it burn down?

[BMW Z1]

Honesty is not always the best policy I would say in this case.
Yeah the homeowner owns anything that was found on her property, but had it not been found by the contractor, who’s to say it would have ever been found in her lifetime!

I think the contractor should at least get 20% as that’s not a lot to give away, considering she’s not exactly lost anything.

How would you feel if you were in his position? 

[shardian]

How would you feel if you were in his position? 

If I were in his position I wouldn't expect a dime, and would have graciously accepted a 10% finders fee.

[FrizzleFried]

How would you feel if you were in his position? 

If I were in his position I wouldn't expect a dime, and would have graciously accepted a 10% finders fee.

Oh yeah...$50K for a job is pretty damn good!

[billf]

How would you feel if you were in his position? 

If I were in his position I wouldn't expect a dime, and would have graciously accepted a 10% finders fee.

Exactly!

[Dartful Dodger]

If you were in his position you wouldn't expect a dime, and you wouldn't give a dime about it.

I saw a lot of junk in the walls and in the ground while I was working with a sewer company and it’s all junk so you don’t think twice about it.  There was one metal box at a grade school that I still wonder about.  We were putting in a drainage pipe under a stairwell.   It was a tight space so we didn’t have a lot of room to work with.  The box could have been face down locker.  We dug out about a quarter of it but we didn't have to dig the hole any wider so we didn’t and it was too heavy to pull out of the ground so we didn’t bother with it.  After we put in the pipes we filled the hole with concrete and left.  My boss at the time told us to leave it alone.  Half joking he said if we find a kid in that thing this job and our pay would  be delayed for at least a month.

He's a high school friend.  That's probably why he called her when he found it.  Otherwise she wouldn't have known.  Even if she were watching him like a hawk if he wasn’t friends with her that bag would have just been thrown into a dumpster and if he thought it had any value he would have fished it out latter.  He defiantly wouldn't have looked around for more.

[FrizzleFried]

Personally,  I hope the judge laughs in his face and gives her 100%...dude should have taken the 10% and been happy...

[DaveMMR]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

You're thinking of a banana stand.    Only thing in Bluth houses are fake turkeys with cereal inside, a fake Peter and the Wolf record, Tobias' secret stash of bodybuilding magazines and other "Homefill" goodies.

Secondly, wasn't that whole "cash hidden in the walls of an old house" the premise of a very bad episode of "What's Happening!"?

Ahh, I love random TV references.

[Daniel270]

I'd never get that lucky...

Probably would be more like my mom trying to remodel a bathroom in a trailer she used to live in.   Found an old coke can sitting on a beam inside the wall from back when they build the trailer.. lol.  That's my usual luck

[TOK]

I'd never get that lucky...

Probably would be more like my mom trying to remodel a bathroom in a trailer she used to live in.   Found an old coke can sitting on a beam inside the wall from back when they build the trailer.. lol.  That's my usual luck

Me either. My house was built in the early 50's and I bought from the original owner. I tore a closet out and found an old Beatles trading card. I currently have the downstairs bathroom completely gutted. All that I found in the wall was a prehistoric superball that barely bounces anymore and some hay and string some critter brought in. There was a crack at a spigot at one time, and he got into the wall behind the tub! 

[shardian]

All I found behind the walls in my bathroom renovation was a MASSIVE carpenter ant nest.

Those things are ---smurfing--- huge and nasty.

[SNAAKE]

20% would be fair. he could have just taken the money but he called her instead. something to think about...

[ChadTower]

Me either. My house was built in the early 50's and I bought from the original owner. I tore a closet out and found an old Beatles trading card.

I remember reading as a kid about this family that ripped open their attic to renovate and found piles and piles of baseball cards from the early 20th century... it was something like $1.5mil in nearly extinct cards.  Apparently the original owners had used them, among a million other random things, as insulation.  It was in the Beckett baseball price guide, I think.

[danny_galaga]

All I found behind the walls in my bathroom renovation was a MASSIVE carpenter ant nest.

Those things are ---smurfing--- huge and nasty.

the only thing we found in the walls of our kitchen reno was some shoddy, shoddy carpentry 

[shardian]

20% would be fair. he could have just taken the money but he called her instead. something to think about...

Sorry, but "I could have stole it - you're lucky I'm honest" is not a valid argument and the judge will laugh him out of the courtroom if he pulls that.

The lady does not owe him anything. He was there to renovate the bathroom, he was being paid for his work. Good for him for being honest. He should feel good about himself. That doesn't mean he's entitled to anything.

When you find someone's wallet and return it to them, you don't say "Here's your wallet I found. I should let you know though that I took half the money out of it - you know, since I'm entitled to it for finding it for you".

[shardian]

the only thing we found in the walls of our kitchen reno was some shoddy, shoddy carpentry 

Well I found that too.

[patrickl]

We found a few boxes of old stock certificates. They looked quite beautiful, but they didn't have much value.

[Hoopz]

20% would be fair. he could have just taken the money but he called her instead. something to think about...

Sorry, but "I could have stole it - you're lucky I'm honest" is not a valid argument and the judge will laugh him out of the courtroom if he pulls that.

Didn't David Foley try that?   

[danny_galaga]

wheres shmokes?

[shmokes]

Legally, she doesn't owe him anything.  He was a licensee on her property.  She owes him whatever their contract says she owes him and nothing more.  If I were in her position I would be inclined to give him a finders fee, but I don't know whether it would be more than 10%.  He did "find" it, but not on his own volition.  Opening up the wall was, presumably, her idea.  His honesty is commendable, but if I drop my wallet and some nice person picks it up and says, "Excuse me sir, you dropped this," I don't think that he is entitled to nearly half my money just because he could have stolen all of it.

[ChadTower]

Last wall I opened up all I found was mildew.  Of course, I was in there to repair a leaky faucet in the shower.

[KSKID]

The contractor should have kept his mouth shut and just took the money, for he does not stand a chance in court.

[BMW Z1]

.

[BMW Z1]

Legally, she doesn't owe him anything.  He was a licensee on her property.  She owes him whatever their contract says she owes him and nothing more.  If I were in her position I would be inclined to give him a finders fee, but I don't know whether it would be more than 10%.  He did "find" it, but not on his own volition.  Opening up the wall was, presumably, her idea.  His honesty is commendable, but if I drop my wallet and some nice person picks it up and says, "Excuse me sir, you dropped this," I don't think that he is entitled to nearly half my money just because he could have stolen all of it.

But it wasnt something she had lost! it wasnt hers in the first place. I think the judge should give it all to charity.

[billf]

Legally, she doesn't owe him anything.  He was a licensee on her property.  She owes him whatever their contract says she owes him and nothing more.  If I were in her position I would be inclined to give him a finders fee, but I don't know whether it would be more than 10%.  He did "find" it, but not on his own volition.  Opening up the wall was, presumably, her idea.  His honesty is commendable, but if I drop my wallet and some nice person picks it up and says, "Excuse me sir, you dropped this," I don't think that he is entitled to nearly half my money just because he could have stolen all of it.

But it wasnt something she had lost! it wasnt hers in the first place. I think the judge should give it all to charity.

What???  That's insane!  She owns the house for crying out loud!  Its hers.  Under your reasoning, any long lost treasures found anywhere should be given to charity??  What about the people who dive for treasure on sunken pirate ships?  What about King Tuts tomb?

[Dartful Dodger]

What???  That's insane!  She owns the house for crying out loud!  Its hers.  Under your reasoning, any long lost treasures found anywhere should be given to charity??  What about the people who dive for treasure on sunken pirate ships?  What about King Tuts tomb?

They were friends.  So was this a job he was doing or a favor. 

If you volunteer to clean up a private lot and you find a 20 dollar bill, is it yours or the lot owners?

[billf]

What???  That's insane!  She owns the house for crying out loud!  Its hers.  Under your reasoning, any long lost treasures found anywhere should be given to charity??  What about the people who dive for treasure on sunken pirate ships?  What about King Tuts tomb?

They were friends.  So was this a job he was doing or a favor. 

If you volunteer to clean up a private lot and you find a 20 dollar bill, is it yours or the lot owners?

It doesn't say they were friends, it said they were classmates.  I think if this was a favor it would have been mentioned in the article.  Finding a $20 bill is a whole lot different than finding the amount that was found in the situation.  But in your question, yes the $20 bill is the lot owners.

[shmokes]

The $20 bill belongs to the owner.  Realistically, I'd probably pocket the $20 if I was volunteering to clean up some random lot.  But legally, it's the lot owner's.

Whether he was a business invitee or a social licensee, he can't walk away with stuff he finds on her property.

[danny_galaga]

What???  That's insane!  She owns the house for crying out loud!  Its hers.  Under your reasoning, any long lost treasures found anywhere should be given to charity??  What about the people who dive for treasure on sunken pirate ships?  What about King Tuts tomb?

not a good example. normally, divers are NOT allowed to take items from historical sunken vessels. and even now the egyptian government is trying to recover all the treasures pilfered from there over the centuries, including artifacts in the british museum.

i agree that this money is hers by virtue of being on her property. like recovering someones stolen wallet, you can hope for a reward but not expect it and not ---smurfette--- about it if you don't get one...

[patrickl]

Yeah, even if something was lost it can still be owned by someone. I've always been wondering about Spain resisting the recovery of gold coins from a sunken ship.
Guardian: Spain forces treasure ship into port in battle over fortune in pieces of eight

Spain claims the coins might have come from a sunken ship in Spanish waters or from a Spanish galleon that sank in international waters. In both cases Spain claims they are the rightful owner of the coins.

[BMW Z1]

What???  That's insane!  She owns the house for crying out loud!  Its hers.  Under your reasoning, any long lost treasures found anywhere should be given to charity??  What about the people who dive for treasure on sunken pirate ships?  What about King Tuts tomb?

They were friends.  So was this a job he was doing or a favor. 

If you volunteer to clean up a private lot and you find a 20 dollar bill, is it yours or the lot owners?

It doesn't say they were friends, it said they were classmates.  I think if this was a favor it would have been mentioned in the article.  Finding a $20 bill is a whole lot different than finding the amount that was found in the situation.  But in your question, yes the $20 bill is the lot owners.

Well lets hope she dosnt find a dead body under the floor boards then!

[billf]

What???  That's insane!  She owns the house for crying out loud!  Its hers.  Under your reasoning, any long lost treasures found anywhere should be given to charity??  What about the people who dive for treasure on sunken pirate ships?  What about King Tuts tomb?

They were friends.  So was this a job he was doing or a favor. 

If you volunteer to clean up a private lot and you find a 20 dollar bill, is it yours or the lot owners?

It doesn't say they were friends, it said they were classmates.  I think if this was a favor it would have been mentioned in the article.  Finding a $20 bill is a whole lot different than finding the amount that was found in the situation.  But in your question, yes the $20 bill is the lot owners.

Well lets hope she dosnt find a dead body under the floor boards then!

Well, then she would be the owner of that too!   

[ChadTower]

Spain claims the coins might have come from a sunken ship in Spanish waters or from a Spanish galleon that sank in international waters. In both cases Spain claims they are the rightful owner of the coins.

There are laws about things in international waters for extreme lengths of time.  Ownership then often does become a finder's ownership, or in some cases, it goes to whomever has the salvage rights to that area.  IIRC, salvage claims are fairly short term, then they go back to nonownership.

[shardian]

The big debate over the people who found the billions in spanish gold is that:
A: There is still a shitload of gold down there.
B: Due to A, the company refuses to share the location of the site
C: Due to B, the Spanish government thinks that the site might actually be in their waters.

[FrizzleFried]

If you buy a piece of property and the very next day OIL is discovered on the property.  Guess who's oil that is?  The owners!  Did he lose that oil?  Was it HIS oil the day before?  Nope...but once his name is on the deed it is his oil! 

Look at gold mines...if you are deeded a gold mine and you find gold,  it's yours!  You didn't lose that gold there...

The money is hers and the judge is going to look at the contractor and say "Dude,  you should have taken the 10% you dumbass...my judgement is for the defendant plus court costs"...

[ChadTower]

There is a guy on the Red Sox, forget his name, that used some of his signing bonus to buy a bunch of land in Maine a couple of years back as a way of saving his money so he couldn't touch it...  a modest amount, maybe low 6 figures, and way up in nowhere Maine.  Didn't even have much in the way of access to it.

...a year or so later it was discovered that the land was absolutely brimming with some type of slate rock that is very much in demand now and is getting harder and harder to source.  The land was suddenly worth up to billion dollars.

Wish I could remember who it is, some utility player I think.

[shardian]

If you buy a piece of property and the very next day OIL is discovered on the property.  Guess who's oil that is?  The owners!  Did he lose that oil?  Was it HIS oil the day before?  Nope...but once his name is on the deed it is his oil! 

Look at gold mines...if you are deeded a gold mine and you find gold,  it's yours!  You didn't lose that gold there...

The money is hers and the judge is going to look at the contractor and say "Dude,  you should have taken the 10% you dumbass...my judgement is for the defendant plus court costs"...

NOT SO FAST, my friend. Mineral rights are separate from your property deed in many areas.  I don't believe I have any mineral rights in my area. I'd have to check to be sure though.

[ChadTower]

That varies by state but I could easily see VA and WV having separate mineral rights given the mining history there.

[btp2k2]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

You're thinking of a banana stand.    Only thing in Bluth houses are fake turkeys with cereal inside, a fake Peter and the Wolf record, Tobias' secret stash of bodybuilding magazines and other "Homefill" goodies.

Secondly, wasn't that whole "cash hidden in the walls of an old house" the premise of a very bad episode of "What's Happening!"?

Ahh, I love random TV references.

They constantly referred to George's habit of hiding money and other valuables in the walls. Remember, when Michael started smashing the walls in the model home to find money to make bail if he had to go to jail and smashed through the bathroom to find Tobias after he "blue" himself....and GOB also found the papers with Saddam's signature in the office walls when he kept making holes so he could play billards.....but yeah, the banana stand was the only one to actually have cash...

[shardian]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

You're thinking of a banana stand.    Only thing in Bluth houses are fake turkeys with cereal inside, a fake Peter and the Wolf record, Tobias' secret stash of bodybuilding magazines and other "Homefill" goodies.

Secondly, wasn't that whole "cash hidden in the walls of an old house" the premise of a very bad episode of "What's Happening!"?

Ahh, I love random TV references.

They constantly referred to George's habit of hiding money and other valuables in the walls. Remember, when Michael started smashing the walls in the model home to find money to make bail if he had to go to jail and smashed through the bathroom to find Tobias after he "blue" himself....and GOB also found the papers with Saddam's signature in the office walls when he kept making holes so he could play billards.....but yeah, the banana stand was the only one to actually have cash...

I have to ask: WTF are you guys talking about?? Maybe I'm too young or something, but I have absolutely no clue.

[billf]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

You're thinking of a banana stand.    Only thing in Bluth houses are fake turkeys with cereal inside, a fake Peter and the Wolf record, Tobias' secret stash of bodybuilding magazines and other "Homefill" goodies.

Secondly, wasn't that whole "cash hidden in the walls of an old house" the premise of a very bad episode of "What's Happening!"?

Ahh, I love random TV references.

They constantly referred to George's habit of hiding money and other valuables in the walls. Remember, when Michael started smashing the walls in the model home to find money to make bail if he had to go to jail and smashed through the bathroom to find Tobias after he "blue" himself....and GOB also found the papers with Saddam's signature in the office walls when he kept making holes so he could play billards.....but yeah, the banana stand was the only one to actually have cash...

I have to ask: WTF are you guys talking about?? Maybe I'm too young or something, but I have absolutely no clue.

Thanks for posting that question Shardian, I thought it was just me.  So WTF are you guys talking about?

[hypernova]

Arrested Development.

WATCH IT!

[AtomSmasher]

The Bluth Company must have been contracted to design that house

You're thinking of a banana stand.    Only thing in Bluth houses are fake turkeys with cereal inside, a fake Peter and the Wolf record, Tobias' secret stash of bodybuilding magazines and other "Homefill" goodies.

Secondly, wasn't that whole "cash hidden in the walls of an old house" the premise of a very bad episode of "What's Happening!"?

Ahh, I love random TV references.

They constantly referred to George's habit of hiding money and other valuables in the walls. Remember, when Michael started smashing the walls in the model home to find money to make bail if he had to go to jail and smashed through the bathroom to find Tobias after he "blue" himself....and GOB also found the papers with Saddam's signature in the office walls when he kept making holes so he could play billards.....but yeah, the banana stand was the only one to actually have cash...

I have to ask: WTF are you guys talking about?? Maybe I'm too young or something, but I have absolutely no clue.

Thanks for posting that question Shardian, I thought it was just me.  So WTF are you guys talking about?

I think that the seal with the yellow bow tie might be the one that I released into the sea after giving it the taste for mammal blood.

[hypernova]

The $20 bill belongs to the owner.  Realistically, I'd probably pocket the $20 if I was volunteering to clean up some random lot.

Just wait until the wind blows it into neutral territory.  Oh look!  $20 in the street!

My opinion on this whole story, woman legally owes him nothing (or a finder's fee) or whatever the law explicitly states.
But she should've been more than willing to share a bit more.  Any sort of unscrupulous contractor would've found that box, tore the hell out of the home (on a subsequent visit to continue the job after learning the value,) and made off with the possible half million assets in question.
And she would've been none the wiser, only finding her home in a state of destruction.

Maybe it's just me...In a world filled with liars and greed, I think the woman should've offered more for the guy's complete honesty with the situation.  Unfortunately, she didn't, and he didn't take the 10% (not sure if there was any kind of negotiation,) so now they both look greedy.

[shmokes]

Arrested Development.

WATCH IT!

Seriously, go to Blockbuster at your first possible convenience and rent the first season.  You will probably watch every episode back-to-back.  It's that good.  It has the same effect on my 20-year-old college friends as my 50-year-old father-in-law.  It's easily the funniest thing on TV since Seinfeld; possibly the funniest sitcom ever.

[danny_galaga]

The money is hers and the judge is going to look at the contractor and say "Dude,  you should have taken the 10% you dumbass...my judgement is for the defendant plus court costs"...

yep. how could that dude even HOPE otherwise. it's entirely up to her. i should add that the only exception would be if the original owner claimed it, but i imagine he's long gone...

[shmokes]

I really don't think the original owner or his heirs/devisees could claim it.  Things that are fixed to/in the walls or ground are considered part of the property.  For example, if I bought your house and you decided that, while you were emptying it of all your belongings, you would retrieve all that expensive CAT 6 cable you had pulled, I could sue you for damages, cos that wire became part of the house when you installed it.  You don't have to have told me that the house comes wired for ethernet; the mere fact that the wires are in the wall means that the house comes with the wires.

As long as this guy's deed is good, everything inside the walls became his when he closed the deal on the property, even if the guy who sold him the house was the very person who accidentally forgot to take the money that he had personally hidden inside the walls.

[danny_galaga]

oh, good point. that's why your the law-type guy (",)

[btp2k2]

Arrested Development.

WATCH IT!

Seriously, go to Blockbuster at your first possible convenience and rent the first season.  You will probably watch every episode back-to-back.  It's that good.  It has the same effect on my 20-year-old college friends as my 50-year-old father-in-law.  It's easily the funniest thing on TV since Seinfeld; possibly the funniest sitcom ever.

It is also online now....http://arresteddevelopment.msn.com/

You can legally watch episodes on that site....I believe they have the entore series online

[knave]

Arrested Development.

WATCH IT!

Seriously, go to Blockbuster at your first possible convenience and rent the first season.  You will probably watch every episode back-to-back.  It's that good.  It has the same effect on my 20-year-old college friends as my 50-year-old father-in-law.  It's easily the funniest thing on TV since Seinfeld; possibly the funniest sitcom ever.

I don't know about "funniest show ever" I found a lot of the jokes to be lame after a certain hand was bitten off...After that it was hit or miss with some funny mixed in with pure crap. 

I gotta get me a stairmobile though...

[shardian]

I think I tried watching an episode or two in the first season. Thought it was kind of dumb...of course I've thought that about most of my favorite shows initially (Buffy, Angel, Roswell...)

[billf]

Well, my wife and I went ahead ordered the first season on DVD for a Christmas gift for ourselves.

[patrickl]

OK this is an old topic, but I think there was an unexpected twist.

CNN: Cash found in Ohio house leads to litigation, grief

The woman is considering bankrupcy and the descendants of the guy who hid the money in the walls were asking for money too. Hilarious.

[ChadTower]

Seems to me she did really, really well.  She spent $14,000 on a vacation.  Then $60,000 "was stolen" but never reported to police.  Suuuuuuuuuuuure it was... who the eff puts $60k in a shoebox in the closet?  She also "sold some rare 1920s bills"... so that's more to her.  Sounds like she did just fine.

And dude complains that sounding greedy hurt his business.  Well, duh, Sherlock.  You were greedy.

[patrickl]

Yeah, not sure how the bankruptcy would be tied to this. Although she claims the money was stolen buy the contractor (Kitts).

I really don't understand how the descendants of Dunne could claim the money. If you buy the house wouldn't that normally include everything that's inside the house when you take posession?

[ChadTower]

I'm guessing she settled with them so their lawsuits wouldn't eat the rest of the cash in attorney fees.  Consider it legal blackmail.

[mountain]

Another angle that I don't think was ever looked into: How did the original owner of the money manage to accumulate $182,000 in CASH back in the depression. I imagine that would be the equivalent of a few million beans today. 

[ChadTower]

It said he was wealthy... when the banks started to crash people ran straight to them and withdrew as much of their money as they were able.  It is plausible that someone would have cleared their accounts and stashed the cash someplace safe.

[Ed_McCarron]

Whether he was a business invitee or a social licensee, he can't walk away with stuff he finds on her property.

Sure he can.  I bet she didn't want anything to do with the dead mice, old insulation, and rotted boards he pulled out of the walls.  In fact, I'm sure his contract read "Contractor is responsible for disposition of all debris."  In that case, he had a leg to stand on, legally.  Morally?  Nah.  It was hers.

[SithMaster]

Whether he was a business invitee or a social licensee, he can't walk away with stuff he finds on her property.

Sure he can.  I bet she didn't want anything to do with the dead mice, old insulation, and rotted boards he pulled out of the walls.  In fact, I'm sure his contract read "Contractor is responsible for disposition of all debris."  In that case, he had a leg to stand on, legally.  Morally?  Nah.  It was hers.

So money counts as debris?

[shardian]

Whether he was a business invitee or a social licensee, he can't walk away with stuff he finds on her property.

Sure he can.  I bet she didn't want anything to do with the dead mice, old insulation, and rotted boards he pulled out of the walls.  In fact, I'm sure his contract read "Contractor is responsible for disposition of all debris."  In that case, he had a leg to stand on, legally.  Morally?  Nah.  It was hers.

So money counts as debris?

Green tin cans in the walls count. That is a good point you raised. However, he is only agreeing in contract to dispose of HER trash. The trash still belongs to the homeowner.

I don't see how the 22 descendants have a legal claim though. The house was sold, the money was sealed in the wall - thus becoming part of the house when the title changed hands.

That is like me finding out my grandpa sold a car without my knowledge, then I go to the person he sold it to and demand it back after he died!

[BobbyG66]

So if I am working on someone's house and I find a boat in the driveway, can I keep it? 

[ChadTower]

No, but if you find it embedded in the foundation, you can have the stern.

[Kevin Mullins]

Older article, but seems to have more details on the story than most I've found so far.
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/02/woman_whose_contractor_found_c.html

As for heirs, descendants and such of Mr Dunne..... they are SOL .... that house has been sold 6 times over since it was pass down to them. If Mr Dunne had clearly noted the whereabouts of the money in his will and they can prove it then that would be a different story.

As for the contractor .... sorry dude .... should have took the 10%, it was a generous offer for something that you had zero rights to.

Amazing how shear greed brings out all the best of people. (not)
Some of them lawyers are just plain sleezy and manipulative.
What happened to some good ol' common sense and morals.