Chapman Bros. Stationery & Office Equipment Co. v. Miles-Hiatt Investments, Inc.

Plaintiff leased office furniture to a customer which the customer used in premises rented from defendant. When the tenant abandoned the premises, defendant asserted a landlord’s lien for unpaid rent against the leased furniture. After some correspondence between plaintiff and defendant, defendant sold the furniture at auction. Plaintiff thereupon filed an action alleging conversion of its property. The trial court granted summary judgment for defendant, and plaintiff appeals.

The case turns on the interpretation of the landlord’s lien law enacted as part of a general recodification of the…