## Facts

- A foreign (Flemish) merchant had royal safe conduct covering his goods.
- The merchant hired a man as a carrier to transport bales of woad (a dye) from London to Southampton.
- Instead of carrying the bales to Southampton, the carrier broke open the bales, removed the woad, and hid or kept it for himself.
- Some of the goods later came into the custody of the Sheriff of London.
- Treating the goods as “waif” (stolen goods forfeited to the Crown), the sheriff delivered the goods to the King.
- The merchant sued the Sheriff of London to recover the goods (or their value), which required the court to determine whether the carrier’s conduct amounted to larceny even though he initially received the bales lawfully as a bailee.

## Issues

1. Whether a bailee (carrier) who lawfully receives sealed bales, then breaks them open and appropriates the contents, can be guilty of larceny.
2. If the taking is larceny, whether the goods were properly treated as waif forfeited to the King, or instead must be returned because the merchant’s goods were protected by royal safe conduct.

## Decision

- The court held that a carrier-bailee who breaks bulk and fraudulently takes the contents can be guilty of larceny.
- The act of breaking open the bales was treated as supplying the trespass required for larceny as to the contents, despite the carrier’s lawful receipt of the bales for carriage.
- Although goods stolen as a felony were generally treated as waif and forfeited to the Crown, the merchant’s royal safe conduct prevented forfeiture in this case, so the merchant could recover against the sheriff.

## Legal Principles

- A bailee with lawful custody of a sealed container or bale may commit larceny by “breaking bulk” and converting the contents.
- For larceny, the law can treat the owner as retaining possession (or constructive possession) of the contents while the bailee holds only custody of the closed bale; unauthorized opening is a trespass against the owner’s possession of the contents.
- If the carrier sells or takes from within the broken bale, the wrong is not merely a breach of trust; the breaking and taking support felony larceny.
- Stolen goods could be claimed as waif and delivered to the King, but a royal safe conduct protecting a merchant’s goods can defeat the usual forfeiture result, permitting the merchant to recover from the sheriff who seized or transferred the goods.

## Conclusion

*Annon v. Sheriff of London* (the Carrier’s Case) establishes that when a carrier entrusted with sealed bales breaks them open and appropriates the goods inside, the breaking of the bulk supplies the trespass needed for larceny, even though the carrier initially received the bales with the owner’s consent; and while felony theft normally supported forfeiture of the goods as waif, the merchant’s royal safe conduct meant the sheriff could not rely on forfeiture to keep the goods from the merchant.


Annon v. Sheriff of London, 64 Selden Soc'y 30 (Ct. Star Chamber 1473)