Legal Definitions - conversion

In legal terms, conversion refers to an intentional act by one party that wrongfully deprives another party of their personal property. It is considered a civil wrong, or 'tort,' meaning the wronged party can sue for damages. The key elements are that someone takes, uses, or interferes with another's personal property (known as 'chattel property,' which does not include real estate like land or buildings) with the intent to possess it or exercise control over it, effectively denying the true owner their rights to that property.

Crucially, the 'intent' required for conversion does not necessarily mean the person intended to do something malicious or knew they were taking someone else's property. It simply means they intended to possess the item or control it as if it were their own. Therefore, a person can be liable for conversion even if they genuinely believed the property was theirs or had been abandoned.

Here are some examples illustrating conversion:

• Example 1: Misappropriated Artwork

  A gallery owner receives a valuable sculpture on consignment from an artist, agreeing to display it for sale. However, instead of selling it or returning it, the gallery owner decides to keep the sculpture for their personal collection, moving it to their home and refusing to acknowledge the artist's requests for its return. Even though the gallery owner initially had legitimate possession, their subsequent act of taking permanent control and denying the artist's ownership constitutes conversion.

• Example 2: Unauthorized Use of Equipment

  A construction company lends a specialized piece of machinery to a subcontractor for a specific project. After the project is completed, the subcontractor, without permission, moves the machinery to a different job site and continues to use it for their own benefit, ignoring the construction company's demands for its return. The subcontractor's intentional act of exercising unauthorized control over the machinery, thereby depriving the construction company of its use, is an act of conversion.

• Example 3: Mistaken Identity Leading to Deprivation

  While moving, a person accidentally loads a box of their neighbor's antique books into their moving truck, mistakenly believing it was one of their own identical boxes. After unpacking at their new home, they realize the mistake but decide to keep the valuable books for themselves, selling some and placing others on their shelves, ignoring the neighbor's inquiries about the missing box. Despite the initial honest mistake, the intentional act of keeping and selling the books, thereby depriving the neighbor of their property, constitutes conversion.