Hill & Sanford v. Covell
New York Court of Appeals
Covell sued Hill and Sapford in the supreme court, in trover, for 52,900 feet of pine lumber. The cause was tried at the Chemung circuit in May, 1844, when the jury found a special verdict, assessing the plaintiff’s damages contingently at $500, . on which the supreme court gave judgment for the plaintiff For a statement of the case and the opinion of the supreme court, see 4 Denio, 323. The defendants bring error to this court.
1Opinion of the CourtGardiner, J.
In the action of trover the jury may undoubtedly refer the question of a conversion to the court as a question of law. But in order to do this, the record must state every fact necessary to the legal conclusion which will then be declared by the court. The difficulty in the present case is that the special verdict neither finds a conversion in terms, nor the facts that will enable us to determine it as a question of law in favor of the plaintiff.
To maintain this action the plaintiff must establish property in himself, and a tortious conversion by the defendant. In this case the special…
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