Man Buys Used Couch Stuffed With Over $43K In Cash—He Returns All Of The Money

May 29, 2020

You've likely heard the old expression about possession being nine-tenths of the law, meaning having physical possession of something makes it easier to claim for yourself. While that may be true, the expression has a counterbalance of moral obligation.

Which weighs heavier for you? One man found out the answer to just that question after discovering loads of hidden money in a used couch he'd bought.

Most secondhand stores sort donated items to determine if they’re fit for resale and then price and display them. They don’t typically go through the items to see if the previous owner left anything behind. For you non-thrifters, let’s just say you can find some really interesting stuff in a secondhand coat pocket.

When Howard Kirby bought a used couch and ottoman from Habitat for Humanity’s retail store in Saginaw-Shiawassee, he probably expected to collect a few pieces of spare change and get rid of some stale cracker crumbs before he put it in his man cave. What he didn’t expect was wads of cash.

Kirby’s daughter immediately noticed how uncomfortable and hard the ottoman was as she sat on it for the first time. She decided to investigate since the upholstery could be unzipped. The hardness was stack after stack of money, not crackers.

In total, the Kirby family found $43,170 stuffed in the cushions of that old used couch, reports WTVR. What would they do with it? It was a question Kirby had actually hypothetically asked himself in the past, and he always wondered what he’d do in the face of such a temptation. He decided to do what made him feel good.

Kirby contacted a lawyer, and he found out that he didn’t have any legal responsibility to return the money. By legal standards, the money was now his to do with as he pleased. But, morally, that didn’t sit right with Kirby. He wanted to do the right thing, not the easiest thing.

According to WTVR, he set out to find out who donated the couch. Kim Fauth-Newberry was the answer. The couch belonged to her deceased grandfather.

She decided to donate it since she didn’t have room for it in her home, but she had no idea that her late grandfather had stuffed it with money. Watch Newberry’s reaction in this video of the money being returned.

Rick Merling, the manager of the store that sold Kirby the couch, was shocked and inspired by the events. Kirby could’ve used the money and easily kept it for himself, but he didn’t. He put his moral standards before his own needs and returned the money to its rightful owner.

What would you have done in Kirby’s shoes? Have you ever faced such a decision in real life? We’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions, and don’t forget to pass this along to others as food for thought.