LAW20370: David is taking his usual walk by the sea when he finds a Rolex lying on the path: Property Law I Assignment, UCD, Ireland

David is taking his usual walk by the sea when he finds a Rolex lying on the path. To the right of the path is a golf course owned by TopTrumps Golf Ltd. To the left of the path is a public beach. David cannot believe his luck, puts the watch in his pocket and brings it home.

When he shows the watch to his wife she tells him he should report it to the county council in case its owner is looking for it. When Dave contacts the council they tell him he can drop the watch to the lost and found office and if no owner is found within one year, he will be entitled to keep it.

One year later David contacts the council but they say they have sold the Rolex to raise funds for a local charity. Advise David if he has any rights to the watch or whether he has a cause of action against the council.

Seán owns a large farm in Tipperary. As he has gotten older, his two nephews John and Adam have been helping him to run it, on the understanding that they will be entitled to portions of the farm following his death.

In June 2020 during the highpoint of the Covid19 pandemic, John and Adam sought reassurances from their uncle that he would make good on his word. Seán assured them that all was in order and that he had drafted a will to that end and left it in a drawer for safe keeping.

Seán died in December of that year and to the surprise of John and Adam, at the reading of his will, they learn that Seán has left the farm ‘to my niece Alice’. Furious, John and Adam insist that this will is null and void because of the subsequent will drafted by Seán in 2020 and they, not Alice are entitled to the farm. Advise Alice as to what rights she has in respect of the farm, and whether her cousins John or Adam may challenge the will.