Jacqueline, exhausted from a long day of travelling around the South Island, decided to check into the Southern Alps Inn, Queenstown for the last three nights of her stay in New Zealand, instead of her usual backpackers accommodation.
After checking in, Jacqueline asked the front desk about her options for safety regarding her property. During her travels, Jacqueline had accumulated quite a lot of precious souvenirs, including rare jewels from India valued at $20,000 NZD. As she was ending her trip and flying back home to England, she wanted to know that her souvenirs would be safe. The innkeeper made her aware that they couldn't keep anything at the front desk but that there was a safe in each room, where her possessions would be completely safe. She placed her jewels, plane ticket and wallet in the safe.
On the last night, she took the money she needed and went downtown to enjoy some relaxing festivities and to get some food. After eating, she came back to her room exhausted, collapsing onto the bed to sleep. Her flight was early the next morning, but when she woke up, she found the safe was still there but her things were not. Not knowing exactly what to do, she rang the front desk assistant. After twenty minutes of arguing with the front desk assistant, she realized she was going to miss her plane. She called the police and left without paying her bill, which was valued at $480.
Further investigation by the police found that the safe was faulty and did not meet the standards required to keep possessions safe. Two days later, cleaning staff found an Indian stone and enamel box in the room, which was valued at $700 NZD. The Southern Alps Inn manager said that the box could be sold and the proceeds used to pay Jacqueline's bill.
a) Is the Southern Alps Inn liable for the rare jewels, wallet and plane ticket held inside the safe?
b) Can Jacqueline claim from the Southern Alps Inn and/or any other legal remedies?
c) Did the Southern Alps Inn manager have the right to keep the Indian stone and enamel box?