Bailment

Bailment, in English law, means the delivery of goods in trust for some special purpose, on a contract, express or implied, to conform to the purpose of the trust. Deposits, pledges, or pawns, contracts for hiring goods, and gratuitous loans, are all varieties of bailment. In the United States the same definition applies. Practically, bailments are of three kinds: (1) for the benefit of the bailor or his representative; (2) for the benefit of the bailee or his representative; (3) for the benefit of both parties. In the first case, as when a person receives the goods of another to keep without recompense, he is responsible only for gross neglect; in the second, he is responsible for the slightest neglect; in the third case, the bailee is bound only to ordinary care and diligence. Bailees, such as warehousemen, innkeepers, and common carriers, have a lien on the property bailed for their charges.