Walter E. Heller Western, Inc. v. Bohemia, Inc.

Plaintiff brought this action for conversion and for breach of contract (wrongful payment to plaintiffs assignor) to recover damages it incurred when lumber in which it held a perfected security interest was “purchased” and later resold by defendant. Plaintiff appeals from a jury verdict for defendant on its conversion claim and from the amount of damages awarded and the denial of prejudgment interest on its contract claim.

Both plaintiff and defendant were creditors of Oregon Skyline Forest Products, Inc. (Oregon Skyline), which operated a lumber mill in Vancouver, Washington, where it…