18. Trespass to goods, conversion and detinue

Trespass to goods

Trespass to goods is a direct and unjustified interference with goods in another person's possession. It includes taking, moving, touching or damaging them. Like other forms of trespass, it is actionable without proof of damage, and good motives are no defence. In Kirk v Gregory a woman who moved jewellery to keep it safe was liable, though only nominally.

The claimant must have possession of the goods at the time. Possession here means actual control or the immediate right to it.

Conversion

Conversion is a deliberate dealing with goods that is seriously inconsistent with the rights of the owner or person entitled to possession. It is the main way of protecting ownership of goods. Examples are taking goods, selling them, destroying them, using them as your own, or refusing to give them up.

Seriousness: The interference must be serious. In Fouldes v Willoughby moving a passenger's horses off a ferry was not conversion, because it did not deny his ownership. The modern test is in Kuwait Airways v Iraqi Airways.

Good faith no defence: Conversion is strict. Someone who innocently buys and sells stolen goods can be liable: Hollins v Fowler.

Who can sue: A claimant does not need to be the owner. A finder has a better right than everyone except the true owner: Armory v Delamirie. Between a finder and an occupier, the finder wins unless the occupier clearly showed he intended to control things on the premises: Parker v British Airways Board.

Jus tertii: Where the defendant claims the goods really belong to a third party (jus tertii), the common law generally did not allow this as a defence against a claimant in possession.

Detinue

Detinue is the wrongful keeping of goods after the person entitled to them has demanded them back. The claimant must usually show a clear demand and a refusal. Detinue still exists at common law in Sierra Leone. (In England it was abolished in 1977 and folded into conversion, but that statute does not apply here.)

The special feature of detinue is that the court can order the goods themselves to be returned. In General and Finance Facilities v Cooks Cars the court set out the possible orders: the value of the goods plus damages, return of the goods or their value, or return of the goods plus damages for keeping them.

Remedies and defences

Damages in conversion are usually the value of the goods at the time of conversion, plus any further foreseeable loss. A person entitled to goods may also take them back peacefully, using reasonable force. Defences include consent, lawful authority (such as seizure under a court order) and, for trespass, necessity.