McMahon v. Sloan
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
In error from the Common Pleas of Butler. Trover for a borse. It appeared from the evidence that the plaintiff was the owner of the horse, and had' lent it to his son, who lived on a farm in the neighbourhood of the father. He there used it, and treated it as his own, and it was so called by the neighbours. There was evidence also that the plaintiff had on several occasions, in the course of casual conversation, spoken of the horse as his son’s, and once denied owning it.
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In error from the Common Pleas of Butler. Trover for a borse. It appeared from the evidence that the plaintiff was the owner of the horse, and had' lent it to his son, who lived on a farm in the neighbourhood of the father. He there used it, and treated it as his own, and it was so called by the neighbours. There was evidence also that the plaintiff had on several occasions, in the course of casual conversation, spoken of the horse as his son’s, and once denied owning it. The son had also spoken of it as his own, and offered to trade or sell it. The defendant purchased the horse from the son,…
1Opinion of the CourtBell, J.
It is said to be a fundamental principle of our law of personal property, that no man can be divested of it without his own consent; and consequently, even an honest purchaser, under a defective title, cannot resist the claim of the true proprietor. The maxim that “No one can transfer to another a better title than he has himself” obtains, in the civil as well as the common law: Pothier, Traité du Contrat du Vente, 1, n. 7;, Erk. In. 418; and hence it is now recognised everywhere in civilized Europe, for “ a sale ex m termini imports nothing more than that a bond fide purchaser succeeds only…
2Cases cited3 opinions
- Saltus & Saltus v. EverettNew York Supreme Court · 1838
- Root v. FrenchNew York Supreme Court · 1835
- Treat v. Inhabitants of MiddletownSupreme Court of Connecticut · 1830
3Cited by11 opinions
- Voss v. ChamberlainSupreme Court of Iowa · 1908
- MacKay v. Benjamin Franklin R. & H. Co.Supreme Court of Pennsylvania · 1926
- Priester v. MillemanSuperior Court of Pennsylvania · 1947
- Windsor Communications Group, Inc. v. Metropolitan Consolidated Industries, Inc. (In Re Windsor Communications Group, Inc.)United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania · 1987
- Handley Motor Co. v. WoodSupreme Court of North Carolina · 1953
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