Pierson v. Post (property law)

According to eCaseBriefs. See: http://www.ecasebriefs.com/blog/law/property/property-law-keyed-to-dukeminier/first-possession-acquisition-of-property-by-discovery-capture-and-creation/pierson-v-post/

Issue. Does a person obtain possession of a wild animal by chasing it?

Held. No. Judgment reversed. Merely finding and chasing a wild animal does not give a person possession. Even merely wounding the animal will not give right to possession. The animal must be captured or killed in order to constitute possession.

By the way, you may ask "Why do cases about wild animal capture matter for property law?"

These cases are often used to interpret more common modern issues, such as courts having to deal with a fugitive resource like oil and gas. Oil and natural gas collect in reservoirs under acres of land and can cause issues over who owns the right to create a well and mine from a pool that rests under the property of multiple landowners. The same reasoning concerning property starts to apply to these types of cases as was used in the classic wild animal cases.