Canning v. Harlan

This suit is in trover for the conversion of certain personal pi’operty which defendant had seized and sold under a chattel mortgage given by the plaintiff to one Mattison and by Mattison assigned to defendant. The suit was begun in justice’s court and was removed to the circuit court by appeal.

On the trial the plaintiff’s counsel opened the case to the jury as follows:

“ This is a case brought by Canning to recover the value of certain property taken by the defendant. Our claim is that Canning, the plaintiff, was owner of this property ; that he had never sold it, and that one Botsford,…