Definition of Abandonment

The surrender, relinquishment, disclaimer or cession of property or of rights. Stephens v. Mansfield, 11 Cal. 363; Dikes v. Miller, 24 Tex. 417; Middle Creek Ditch Co. v. Henry, 15 Mont. 558, 39 Pac. 1054. The giving up a thing absolutely, without reference to any particular person or purpose, as throwing a jewel into the highway; leaving a thing to itself, as a vessel at sea ; vacating property with the intention of not returning, so that it fiiay be appropriated by the next comer. 2 Bl. Comm. 9, 10; Pidge v. Pidge, 3 Mete. (Mass) 265; Breedlove v. Stump, 3 Yerg. (Tenn.) 257, 276; Richardson v. McNulty, 24 Cal. 339, 345; Judson v. Malloy, 40 Cal. 299, 310. To constitute abandonment there must concur an intention to forsake or relinquish the thing in question and some external act by which that intention is manifested or carried into effect. Mere nonuser is not abandonment unless coupled with an intention not to resume or reclaim the use or possession. Sikes v. State (Tex Cr. App.) 28 S. W. 688; Barnett v. Dickinson, 93 Md. 258, 48 Atl. 838; Welsh v. Taylor, 134 N. Y. 450, 31 N. E. 896, 18 L. It. A. 535. In marine insurance. A relinquishment or cession of property by the owner to the insurer of it, in order to claim as for a total loss, when in fact it is so. by construction only. 2 Steph. Comm. 178. The exercise of a right which a party having insured goods or vessels has to call upon the insurers, in cases where the property insured has, by perils of the sea, become so much damaged as to be of little value, to accept of what is or may be saved, afld to pay the full amount of the insurance, as if a total loss had actually happened. Park, Ins. 148; 2 Marsh. Ins. 559; 3 Kent, Comm. 318-335, and notes; The St. Johns (D. C.) 101 Fed. 469; Roux v. Salvador, 3 Bing. N. C. 206, 284; Mellish v. Andrews, 15 East, 13 ; Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Duffield, 6 Ohio St. 200, 67 Am. Dec. 339. Abandonment is the act by Which, after a constructive total loss, a person Insured by contract of marine insurance declares to the insurer that he relinquishes to him his interest in the thing insured. Civil Code CaL § 2716. The term is used only in reference to risks in navigation; but the principle is applicable in fire insurance, where there are remnants, and sometimes, also, under stipulations in life policies in favor of creditors. In maritime law. The surrender of a vessel and freight by the owner of the same to a person having a claim thereon arising out of a contract made with the master. See Poth. Chart. § 2, art. 3, § 5L. In patent law. As applied to inventions, abandonment is the giving up of his rights by the inventor, as where he surrenders his idea or discovery or relinquishes the intention of perfecting his invention, and so throws it open to the public or where he negligently postpones the assertion of his claims or fails to apply for a patent, and allows the public to use his invention without objection. Woodbury, etc., Machine Co., v. Keith, 101 U. S. 479, 485, 25 L. Ed. 939; American Hide, etc., Co. v. American Tool, etc., Co , 1 Fed. Cas. 647 ; Mast v. Dempster Mill Co. (C. C.) 71 Fed. 701; Bartlette v. Crittenden, 2 Fed. Cas. 981; Pitts v. Hall, 19 Fed. Cas. 754. There may also be an abandonment of a patent, where the inventor dedicates it to the public use; and this may be shown by his failure to sue infringers, to sell licenses or otherwise to make efforts to realize a personal advantage from his patent Ransom v. New York, 4 Blatchf. 157, 20 Fed. Cas. 286. Of easement, right of way, water right. Permanent cessation of use or enjoyment with no intention to resume or reclaim. Welsh v. Taylor, 134 N. Y. 450, 31 N. E 896, 18 L. R. A. 535; Corning v. Gould, 16 Wend. (N. Y.) 531; Tucker v. Jones, 8 Mont. 225, 19 Pac. 571; McClain v. Chicago, etc., It. Co.., 90 Iowa, 646, 57 N. W. 594; Oviatt v. Big Four Min. Co., 39 Or. 118, 65 Pac. 811. Of mining claim. The relinquishment of a claim held by location without patent, where the holder voluntarily leaves his claim to be appropriated by the next comer, without any intention to retake or resume it, and regardless of what may become of it in the future. McKay v. McDougall, 25 Mont. 258, 64 Pac. 669, 87 Am. St. Rep. 395; St. John v. Kidd, 26 Cal. 263, 272; Orea-muno v. Uncle Sam Min. Co., 1 Nev. 215; Derry v. Ross, 5 Co.lo. 295. Of domicile. Permanent removal from the place of one's domicile with the intention of taking up a residence elsewhere and with no intention to returning to the original home except temporarily. Stafford v. Mills, 57 N. J. Law, 570, 31 Atl. 1023; Mills v. Alexander, 21 Tdx. 154; Jarvais v. Moe, 38 Wis. 440. By husband or Wife. The act of a husband or wife who leaves his or her consort willfully, and with an intention of causing perpetual separation. Gay v. State, 105 Ga. 599, 31 S. E. 569, 70 Am. St Rep. 68; People v. Cullen. 153 N. Y. 629, 47 N. E. 894, 44 In R. A. 420. "Abandonment, in the sense in which it is used in the statute under which this proceeding was commenced, may be defined to be the act of willfully leaving the wlfe, with the intention of causing a palpable separation between the parties, and implies an actual desertion of the wife by the husband." Stan-brough v. Stanbrough, 60 Ind. 279. In French law. The act by which a debtor surrenders his property for the benefit of his creditors. Merl. Repert. "Abandonment."