Godwin v. Taenzer

The question of law raised on the record in this case is: What is the measure of recovery to which the complainant, from whose land timber has been feloniously taken, is entitled as against the defendants, who innocently purchased the same from the felon and as innocently converted it to their own use? The contention of the defendants is that, having bought and appropriated the timber in good faith and without any knowledge of the true ownership, they should be charged the value of the timber at the place where the trees *103were felled from which it was eut, and not its market value at the point…