The party to whom personal property is delivered and entrusted for a specific purpose is called what?

• A. Lienholder
• B. Consignee
• C. Warehouseman
• D. Bailee

Answer: (D)

The key idea is bailment: when someone is given possession of another person’s property for a specific purpose, that person is the bailee. The bailee holds the property for the benefit of the bailor (the owner) and has a duty to take reasonable care of it and to return it or handle it as agreed. A lienholder merely holds property as security for a debt, which isn’t about possessing for a stated purpose. A consignee is the recipient in a shipment rather than the caretaker of the property for a purpose. A warehouseman is a type of bailee who stores goods, but the general term for someone entrusted with property for a specific purpose is bailee.