French term (edited): contrat de d�p�t on�reux

bailment
n. 1) the act of placing property in the custody and control of another, usually by agreement in which the holder (bailee) is responsible for the safekeeping and return of the property. Examples: bonds left with the bank, autos parked in a garage, animals lodged with a kennel, or a storage facility (as long as the goods can be moved and are under the control of the custodian). While most are "bailments for hire" in which the custodian (bailee) is paid, there is also "constructive bailment" when the circumstances create an obligation upon the custodian to protect the goods, and "gratuitous bailment" in which there is no payment, but the bailee is still responsible, such as when a finder of a lost diamond ring places it with a custodian pending finding the owner. 2) the goods themselves which are held by a bailee. Thus, the "bailor" (owner) leaves the "bailment" (goods) with the "bailee" (custodian), and the entire transaction is a "bailment."
See also: bailee bailor
[dictionary.law.com/default2. asp?selected=27&bold=%7C%7C%7C%7C]


Bailments are divisible into three kinds: 1. Those in which the trust is for the benefit of the bailor, as deposits and mandates. 2. Those in which the trust is for the benefit of the bailee, as gratuitous loans for use. 3. Those in which the trust is for the benefit of both parties, as pledges or pawns, and hiring and letting to hire. See Deposit; Hire; Loans; mandates and Pledges
[http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Bailment]

Judge McMahon rejected the claim that a bailment was ever created. When the organ was originally delivered to the storage warehouse, the relationship was a rental of storage space and not a bailment. The court noted the letter stating the terms of storage described a lease of space rather than a bailment relationship. The plaintiff clearly shared control over the rented space with the building owner. There was no evidence that the building owner undertook any duty to monitor or care for the organ.
The judge then observed that a rental of premises could not be transformed into a bailment by later actions of the landlord, writing, "Tenancies and bailments are two separate and distinct legal relationships, and a contract cannot create both a tenancy and a bailment at the same time." Judge McMahon concluded the building owner may have breached the lease agreement, but he was not a bailee.
[www.insideselfstorage.com/articles/1c1ssagov.html]

Unless otherwise specified, the word "bailment" alone tends to signify a "gratuitous bailment", since words like "hire", "rental", and "loan" cover "bailment for hire" in everyday speech.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 24 mins (2004-08-02 13:25:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

\"Dépôt\" here refers to the fact that the equipment is \"deposited\" in the hands of the person hiring it, not to any form of \"deposit\" paid by that person.

Dépôt - Dr. Civ. - Contrat par lequel une personne (le déposant) remet une chose mobilière à une autre (le dépositaire) qui accepted de la garder et s\'engage à la restituer lorsque la demande lui en sera faite.
[Lexique, Termes juridiques, Dalloz]

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 28 mins (2004-08-02 13:30:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

\"Dépôt\" here refers to the fact that the equipment is \"deposited\" in the hands of the person hiring it, not to any form of \"deposit\" paid by that person.

Dépôt - Dr. Civ. - Contrat par lequel une personne (le déposant) remet une chose mobilière à une autre (le dépositaire) qui accepted de la garder et s\'engage à la restituer lorsque la demande lui en sera faite.
[Lexique, Termes juridiques, Dalloz]

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 29 mins (2004-08-02 13:30:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oops, double vision again.

That\'s the legalese. Depending on context, you might be able to get away with \"hire/rental contract/agreement\".