SECTIONS 1813-1818 - California Statutes

CIVIL CODE

SECTION 1813-1818

1813. A deposit may be voluntary or involuntary; and for safe
keeping or for exchange.

1814. A voluntary deposit is made by one giving to another, with
his consent, the possession of personal property to keep for the
benefit of the former, or of a third party. The person giving is
called the depositor, and the person receiving the depositary.

1815. An involuntary deposit is made:
(a) By the accidental leaving or placing of personal property in
the possession of any person, without negligence on the part of its
owner.
(b) In cases of fire, shipwreck, inundation, insurrection, riot,
or like extraordinary emergencies, by the owner of personal property
committing it, out of necessity, to the care of any person.
(c) By the delivery to, or picking up by, and the holding of, a
stray live animal by any person or public or private entity.
(d) By the abandonment or leaving of a live animal, as proscribed
by Section 597.1 of the Penal Code, in or about any premises or real
property that has been vacated upon, or immediately preceding, the
termination of a lease or other rental agreement or foreclosure of
the property.

1816. (a) The person or private entity with whom a thing is
deposited in the manner described in Section 1815 is bound to take
charge of it, if able to do so.
(b) Any person or private entity with whom a live animal is
deposited in the manner described in subdivision (d) of Section 1815
shall immediately notify animal control officials for the purpose of
retrieving the animal pursuant to Section 597.1 of the Penal Code.
Animal control officers who respond shall be entitled to exercise the
right afforded them pursuant to that section to secure a lien for
the purpose of recovering the costs of attempting to rescue the
animal. Nothing in this subdivision shall impose any new or
additional civil or criminal liability upon a depositary who complies
with this subdivision.
(c) A public agency or shelter with whom an abandoned animal is
deposited in the manner described in Section 1815 is bound to take
charge of it, as provided in Section 597.1 of the Penal Code.
(d) The person in possession of the abandoned animal is subject to
all local ordinances and state laws that govern the proper care and
treatment of those animals.
(e) For purposes of this section, the person or private entity
that notifies animal control officials to retrieve the animal or the
successor property owner shall not be considered the keeper of the
animal or the agent of the animal's owner as those terms are used in
Section 597.1 of the Penal Code.

1817. A deposit for keeping is one in which the depositary is bound
to return the identical thing deposited.

1818. A deposit for exchange is one in which the depositary is only
bound to return a thing corresponding in kind to that which is
deposited.