Which term denotes the owner of personal property in a bailment?

• A. Bailee
• B. Consignee
• C. Bailor
• D. Consignor

Answer: (C)

In a bailment, ownership stays with the person who delivers the property for a specific purpose. That person is the bailor—the owner who entrusts the belongings to another for safekeeping or a particular use, with the expectation that it will be returned or otherwise disposed of as agreed. The person who receives and holds the property is the bailee, who has a duty to take reasonable care of it and to return it under the terms of the bailment. Terms like consignee or consignor relate to shipping arrangements and do not describe the owner in a bailment; the consignor is the sender and the consignee is the recipient in a shipment, not the owner temporarily handing over property in a bailment.