B. A. Ballou & Co. v. Citytrust

This is an action in conversion. The plaintiff, B. A. Ballou and Company, Inc., alleges that the defendant, Citytrust, wrongfully appropriated the plaintiff’s scrap metal while it was in the possession of a third party, Bridgeport Rolling Mills Company. The issues on appeal are: (1) who has the burden of proving whether a bailment exists; (2) whether under the circumstances presented a bailment existed; and (3) whether damages for conversion were properly calculated. We conclude that (1) the burden of proving a bailment lies with the party whose claim to ownership relies upon such a…