Poggi v. Scott – Case Brief
Poggi v. Scott, 139 P. 815 (Cal. 1914).
Facts: Poggi (P) stored wine barrels in a locked basement storeroom he rented from a judge and from his lessee the Sanitary Laundry Company. The judge sold the building to Scott (D) and testified that he had informed Scott of Poggi’s lease with the Sanitary Laundry Company. The judge did not notify P that he had sold the premises.
After the sale, P visited the basement storeroom and discovered that all of his wine had been sold. Two men had told D that they wanted to purchase the broken barrels stored in the basement. D claimed that he had inspected the barrels and that they had been empty. D sold the barrels to the men in exchange for $15 and for cleaning out the basement. The two men were arrested for theft and P filed suit against D for conversion. At trial the court granted a nonsuit in D’s favor and P appealed.
Issue: Is innocent mistake a defense to conversion?
Holding and Rule: No. A conversion is the exercising of an unjustifiable and unwarranted dominion and control over another’s property which causes injury to the owner of the property. The foundation for the act of conversion rests upon the unwarranted interference by the defendant with the dominion over the property of the plaintiff from which injury results. The knowledge and intent of the defendant are not relevant. The plaintiff need not prove a wrongful motive behind the acts or that the defendant was negligent. The fact that the defendant did not intend to commit a wrongful act is not a defense to conversion.
The court held that in this case, D sold barrels that did not belong to him and it was of no consequence that he did not know that the barrels contained wine.
Disposition: Reversed.
Notes: Common law conversion is a strict liability tort. Conversion overlaps with trespass to chattels. In most cases the two are distinguished by the extent of damage to the property at issue. Trespass to chattels applies where there is merely an intermeddling or minor damage. Conversion applies to cases in which there has been extensive damage or where the property is unusable or cannot be recovered.