Fouldes v. Willoughby

Facts

• The plaintiff attempted to board a ferry with his horses. The defendant, the ferry operator, removed the horses from the boat and put them ashore, refusing to carry them further. The defendant did not take, use, sell, or otherwise deal with the horses in any manner inconsistent with the plaintiff's ownership. The plaintiff could have simply retrieved the horses from the shore.

Issue

1. Whether removing goods from one specific location or mode of transport, without any further dealing inconsistent with ownership, constitutes conversion.

Held

• Conversion requires conduct amounting to a genuine denial of, or serious exclusion from, the owner's rights. Mere removal from the boat, without appropriating, destroying, or otherwise dealing with the horses inconsistently with ownership, did not meet this threshold. The plaintiff's underlying ownership and ability to recover the horses remained entirely intact. No conversion occurred, though the interference might constitute mere trespass to goods.

Ratio Decidendi

Conversion requires a serious interference with goods amounting to a denial of the owner's rights, not merely any interference with one specific mode of dealing with them. Where the owner's underlying ownership and recovery remain intact, the conduct falls short of conversion, however inconvenient.