Ghen v. Rich U.S. District Court 1881 Facts: (L) was whaling off the shore of Cape Cod. He sought and killed a whale with his bomb-lance. The whale sank and (L) went off to wait for the carcass to reappear so that he could finish the capture. The next morning the whale washed up on shore. A man named Ellis recovered the wale and sold it to R) without sending word to the town, as was customary. (L) heard that the whale had washed ashore and immediately sent one of his boats to the place and claimed it. Ellis and R did not know that the whale belonged to (L) but could have noticed that the whale was killed by someone in the whaling trade with a bomb-lance. Rules: Taber v. Jenny “If a whale had been killed and anchored with marks of appropriation, it was the property of the captors; and it afterwards found still anchored, by another ship, there is no usage or principle of law by which the property of the original captors is diverted…”
Issues: Does the (L) have right to property over the whale by shooting and killing it and not giving up the pursuit of the whale? Holding: Decree for the libellant for the price of the oil ($71.05) Reasoning: Tabor v Jenny established that when a whale has been killed it is the property of the captors. Swift also established that if the fisherman has done or is doing everything within reason to secure the fish or whale that the it is still his property. This is limited to fishing though.