Pierson v. Post

Pierson v. Post

Supreme Court of New York, 1805

3 Cai. R. 175, 2 Am. Dec 264

Facts: Lodowick Post was foxhunting by horseback with hounds. He was hunting on unowned common “waste land” and was in active pursuit of a fox, which his dogs had come upon. Jesse Pierson knew Post was in pursuit of the fox and killed and carried the fox away in sight of Post. Pierson was not a member of the Post hunt and killed the fox independent of Post’s efforts although Pierson did benefit from the efforts of Post to scare up and drive the fox into an area where Pierson could kill it.

Procedural History: The trial court ruled in favor of Post. Pierson sued out of certiorari, and the case was assigned to the Supreme Court for error on the declaration that the case was decided on bad law. 

Issue: Does Post’s effort in pursuing the fox give him a legal right to the fox, or is Pierson entitled to the fox because he was the one who ultimately changed the fox’s state of nature and first possessed the fox? 

Holding: The court held that Pierson was entitled to the fox because he was the person who first possessed the fox, or in other words, gained occupancy of the fox. 

Reasoning: Judge Tompkins looked to several ancient writers in determining what occupancy threshold must be cleared in order to award the fox. He found that Justinian’s Institutes adopted the priciple that pursuit alone vested no property or right in the huntsman. Puffendorf difined occupancy of wild animals as corporal possession of them. Bynkershoek agreed with this definition. Barbyrac stated occupancy could be satisfied if the animal was mortally wounded and the claimant continued to pursue the animal with the expectation that it would be possessed. Tompkins reasoned that Post, even though pursuing the fox, had not wounded it. Therefore, the fox remained ferae naturae. Since Pierson was the person who did in fact gain possession of the fox by shooting and taking the fox, satisfying the occupancy requirement of the ancient writers Tompkin referenced, for the sake of certainty and preserving the peace, he awarded the fox to Pierson.

Pierson v. Post Supreme Court of New York, 1805 3 Cai. R. 175, 2 Am. Dec 264 Facts: Lodowick Post was foxhunting by horseback with hounds. He was hunting on unowned common “waste land” and was in active pursuit of a fox, which his dogs had come upon. Jesse Pierson knew Post was in pursuit…