Court Opinion

ID: 9625777
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 07:51:00.455192+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:56:28.836228
License: Public Domain

McALLISTEB, J.,
concurring.
In my view this case does not turn on whether plaintiff was an innocent purchaser. When the true owner discovered that plaintiff wrongfully had possession of his trailer and elected to bring a conversion action against plaintiff he vested plaintiff with an insurable interest in the trailer. If the true owner prevailed in the conversion action plaintiff would be liable for the value of the trailer at the time of the conversion, even though the trailer was lost or destroyed during the pendency of the action. If plaintiff prevailed in the conversion action his right to possession of the trailer would be judicially established. In the event of either outcome of the conversion action plaintiff had a pecuniary interest in the trailer and would suffer a loss by its destruction.
When the true owner filed the conversion action the “innocent purchaser” question was no longer material. I concur in the result of the majority opinion.