Learning Outcomes
After reading this article, you will be able to define conversion, identify its elements, distinguish it from trespass to chattels, and understand the remedies available. You will also be able to apply these principles to MBE-style questions and avoid common exam pitfalls regarding intent, subject matter, and damages.
MBE Syllabus
For MBE, you are required to understand the law of intentional torts to property, including conversion. This involves knowing the elements of conversion, the types of acts that constitute conversion, the remedies available, and how conversion differs from related torts such as trespass to chattels. You should be prepared to:
- Define conversion and identify its elements.
- Recognize acts that amount to conversion.
- Distinguish conversion from trespass to chattels.
- Understand the remedies for conversion, including damages and replevin.
- Apply the rules to fact patterns involving interference with personal property.
Test Your Knowledge
Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.
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Which of the following is NOT required to establish conversion?
- Intent to perform the act interfering with the chattel
- Actual damage to the chattel
- Serious interference with the plaintiff’s possessory rights
- Causation
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Which remedy is most appropriate for conversion?
- Nominal damages only
- Injunction
- Full market value of the chattel at the time of conversion
- Punitive damages only
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Which of the following is most likely to be conversion rather than trespass to chattels?
- Briefly borrowing a friend’s book and returning it unharmed
- Permanently withholding a friend’s laptop after refusing to return it
- Scratching a friend’s car while parking
- Accidentally spilling coffee on a friend’s shirt
Introduction
Conversion is an intentional tort protecting a person’s possessory interest in personal property. It involves a serious interference with another’s right to possess a chattel, such that the defendant may be required to pay the full value of the item. Conversion is often tested on the MBE, especially in scenarios involving wrongful acquisition, destruction, or retention of property.
Key Term: Conversion
The intentional exercise of dominion or control over another’s chattel that seriously interferes with the owner’s right to control it, justifying payment of the full value of the chattel.
Elements of Conversion
To establish conversion, the plaintiff must prove:
- Act: Defendant committed an act interfering with the plaintiff’s right of possession in a chattel.
- Intent: Defendant intended to perform the act that interfered with the chattel (intent to cause harm is not required).
- Causation: Defendant’s act caused the interference.
- Serious Interference: The interference is so substantial that the defendant should pay the full value of the chattel.
Key Term: Serious Interference
A level of interference with a chattel that justifies requiring the defendant to pay the full market value of the item.
What Acts Constitute Conversion?
Conversion can occur through various acts, including:
- Wrongful acquisition (e.g., theft, fraud)
- Wrongful transfer (e.g., selling, pledging)
- Wrongful detention (e.g., refusing to return property)
- Substantial alteration or destruction
- Misuse of the chattel
Even a bona fide purchaser may be liable if the chattel was stolen or wrongfully acquired.
Key Term: Bona Fide Purchaser
A person who buys property in good faith without notice of any defect in title; may still be liable for conversion if the property was stolen.
Subject Matter of Conversion
Conversion applies to tangible personal property and certain documents in which title is merged (e.g., promissory notes, bills of lading). Pure intangibles and real property cannot be converted.
Remedies for Conversion
The primary remedy is damages for the fair market value of the chattel at the time and place of conversion. The plaintiff may also seek replevin (return of the chattel) if desired.
Key Term: Replevin
An action to recover possession of specific personal property wrongfully taken or withheld.
Distinguishing Conversion from Trespass to Chattels
Conversion requires a serious interference with the plaintiff’s rights, justifying full value damages. Trespass to chattels covers less serious interferences, where only actual damages are recoverable.
Worked Example 1.1
A borrows B’s rare coin collection without permission, intending to return it in a week. Instead, A sells the coins to C, who does not know they were borrowed. B demands the coins back, but C refuses.
Answer:
A’s sale is a serious interference with B’s possessory rights, amounting to conversion. C, as a bona fide purchaser, is also liable for conversion. B may recover the full market value of the coins from either A or C.
Worked Example 1.2
D borrows E’s bicycle for an afternoon ride without asking, but returns it undamaged the same evening.
Answer:
D’s temporary use is likely a trespass to chattels, not conversion, because the interference was not serious enough to justify full value damages.
Exam Warning
On the MBE, intent for conversion means intent to perform the act, not intent to cause harm or to convert. Mistaken belief in ownership is not a defense.
Revision Tip
If the interference is minor, think trespass to chattels. If the owner is deprived of the property or it is destroyed, think conversion.
Key Point Checklist
This article has covered the following key knowledge points:
- Conversion is an intentional tort involving serious interference with another’s chattel.
- Only intent to perform the act is required; intent to harm is not necessary.
- Acts such as theft, destruction, or wrongful detention may constitute conversion.
- The remedy is the full market value of the chattel at the time of conversion or replevin.
- Conversion is distinguished from trespass to chattels by the seriousness of the interference.
Key Terms and Concepts
- Conversion
- Serious Interference
- Bona Fide Purchaser
- Replevin