If it goes to a jury it can :-p

I completely agree. It seems more reasonable to try and return the property to the company you know it belongs to and not leave something that valuable at a bar. And since Apple didn't want it, well, that's their fault. And who knows, maybe the guy originally took it to call Gray Powell up the next morning when neither of them were drunk which is the best course of action, but couldn't because Apple nuked the phone. And because he couldn't contact Gray, he did the next best thing and called the company.

I think the reason why it is a bit blurry is because the person who found the iPhone did try to return it. He might not have taken the best steps, but he did try. If I were in his shoes, I probably would have taken the phone and tried to call it the next day when the parties involved weren't drunk. But Apple nuked the phone so that option was gone. Representatives from Apple showed no interest in the phone, and it was clearly theirs so it was fine for the guy to sell it, because Apple did not want it. And its not like Apple never got it back once they realized their error either.....