Opinion ID: 2445730
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Physical Annexation

Text: [¶ 17] Physical annexation occurs when an object is affixed to the realty, see Bangor-Hydro Electric Co., 226 A.2d at 376, or simply through the object's sheer weight, Hinkley & Egery Iron Co. v. Black, 70 Me. 473, 480 (1880); see also United States v. County of San Diego, 53 F.3d 965, 968 (9th Cir.1995) (concluding that a nuclear device weighing between 400 and 500 tons was annexed to the ground by gravity); Pritchard Petroleum Co. v. Farmers Co-op. Oil & Supply Co., 117 Mont. 467, 161 P.2d 526, 531 (1945) (finding that four-ton tanks held in place by their weight were affixed to the ground). [¶ 18] The School Department's bleachers were disassembled, moved to the visitors' side of the field and reassembled, disassembled again, and removed. They were neither affixed to the ground [1] nor did their weight prevent them from being freely relocated. On the contrary, they are as readily relocatable as a tent, a modular stage, or any other temporary structure. Therefore, the bleachers were not annexed in any fashion to the high school or its field. Compare Lewiston Bottled Gas Co. v. Key Bank of Me., 601 A.2d 91, 94 (Me.1992) (concluding that heating and air-conditioning units attached to walls with bolts were physically annexed), and Bangor-Hydro Electric Co., 226 A.2d at 376 (concluding that telephone poles set into the ground were physically annexed to the realty), with Sanford, 2004 ME 73, ¶ 12, 850 A.2d at 329 (concluding that a freestanding trash bin outside of [a] waste facility was personal property).