PUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 23-2246

WILLIAM NILE ELAM, III,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

STEPHEN TIMOTHY EARLY; MICHAEL S. EARLY; SUZANNE J. EARLY,

Defendants - Appellants.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Michael Stefan Nachmanoff, District Judge. (1:23-cv-00229-MSN-WEF)

Argued: December 12, 2024 Decided: May 30, 2025

Before HARRIS, RICHARDSON, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by published opinion. Judge Quattlebaum wrote the opinion, in which Judge Harris joined. Judge Richardson wrote a dissenting opinion.

ARGUED: Robert E. Goldman, LAW OFFICES OF ROBERT E. GOLDMAN LLC, Allentown, Pennsylvania, for Appellants. Philip J. Harvey, HARVEY LAW OFFICES, PLLC, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Paris R. Sorrell, HARVEY LAW OFFICES, PLLC, Alexandria, Virginia; David G. Fiske, FISKE LAW GROUP, PLLC, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee. USCA4 Appeal: 23-2246 Doc: 31 Filed: 05/30/2025 Pg: 2 of 29

QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judge:

This appeal involves the intersection of two time-tested traditions. One, sadly, is

that families sometimes squabble over their ancestors’ possessions. Going back at least to

the Book of Genesis—where Jacob took advantage of his older brother Esau to gain his

birthright—family fights over inheritance are “a tale as old as time.” 1 Carrying on that

unfortunate legacy, William Elam and his relatives—the Earlys—cannot agree who owns

a set of Norman Rockwell drawings given to their grandfather. Elam says he owns them

outright, while the Earlys insist they are part-owners.

The other tradition is really an adage. As many of us heard growing up, “possession

is nine-tenths of the law.” It turns out that this old saying reflects our law’s

acknowledgment that possession is often the best evidence of ownership. In adopting that

presumption, Virginia law, which controls this case, follows principles that date back to

ancient Rome. And here, the district court found that Elam’s possession of the Rockwells

created a presumption of ownership, which the Earlys did not rebut.

Applying this ancient solution to a more ancient problem, we agree that Elam’s

possession entitled him to a presumption that he owned the art. We also agree that the

Earlys did not rebut that presumption. Rather than establishing their own superior title, as

the law requires, they merely tried to poke holes in Elam’s title. We, therefore, affirm the

district court’s order of summary judgment declaring Elam to be the owner of the drawings.

1 “Beauty and the Beast,” written by Howard Ashman & Alan Menken, in Beauty and the Beast (Walt Disney Animation Studios 1991).

2 USCA4 Appeal: 23-2246 Doc: 31 Filed: 05/30/2025 Pg: 3 of 29

I. Background

A. Facts

Our story begins during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. In 1943, famed

artist Norman Rockwell 2 drew four panels capturing various visitors in the West Wing

waiting for an audience with FDR. That same year, Rockwell gifted the four original

illustrations—entitled So You Want to See the President—to FDR’s Press Secretary,

Stephen T. Early. The illustrations are pictured below:

2 “Without thinking too m

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