[5] Giants slugger Barry Bonds was trying to add to his single season home run record he had set two days before.

[6] If Bonds hit a home run, the record-setting ball would have considerable value, estimated to be as high as $1.5 million.

In fact, if Popov had dropped the ball without having been attacked by the group of wrongdoers, it would have still been considered abandoned property that would be acquired by whoever successfully grasped it first.

But simply giving Hayashi the rights to it would be unfair as well, as Popov would likely have certainly been in possession of it if not attacked by the wrongdoers.

[3][1][4][2] The court eventually concluded that both parties had rights to the ball and neither could be deprived of it lawfully, and the best solution was an equitable division.

[3][1][4][2] This case sets a precedent for similar scenarios where simple conversion of rightful property is not easy to determine.