The tenant company had defaulted under the lease, and the landlord had retaken possession. The landlord discarded the tenant’s possessions, and the tenant now sued, saying that the landlords as involuntary bailees owed duties to the proper owner.
Held: In the context of commercial goods, the purpose of which is to earn profit, the assessment of what the Claimant has lost and of the damages that would be reasonable as between the Claimant and the Defendant must take into account the commercial usefulness of the goods to the Claimant. If the reality is that what was destroyed was commercially useless to the Claimant, that cannot be ignored in the assessment of damages.
The defendants had not discharged the burden on them of proving abandonment. Liability was not strict, and it had to be shown that the defendants knew or ought to have known that the goods belonged to a third party. That could not be shown in this particular case, and the claim failed.
Edelman QC J
[2010] EWHC 115 (QB)
Bailii
Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – AVX v EGM Solders Ltd QBD 1-Jul-1982
The defendants had agreed to the return of defective spheres of solder which they had manufactured for the plaintiffs. By mistake, as well as returning the defective solder in one box, the plaintiffs returned twenty-one boxes of capacitors which . .
Cited – Marcq v Christie, Manson and Woods Ltd CA 23-May-2003
The claimant’s stolen painting was put up for sale by the defendant. On being withdrawn, they returned it to the person who had brought it in. The claimant sought damages.
Held: There was no reported case in which a court has had to consider . .
Cited – The Harmonides 1903
The measure of damages for the loss of a profitable ship is to include its economic value: ‘So that the real test, where there is no market is, as counsel on both sides agree, what is the value to the owners as a going concern, at the time the . .
Cited – Voaden v Champion ( ‘Baltic Surveyor’ ) CA 31-Jan-2002
The ‘Baltic Surveyor’ was lost at its moorings in a storm. A neighbouring ship had been negligently secured, and freed itself and sank the Baltic Surveyor. The owner appealed findings as to the value of the boat, and securing pontoon. She asserted . .
Cited – The Harmonides 1903
The measure of damages for the loss of a profitable ship is to include its economic value: ‘So that the real test, where there is no market is, as counsel on both sides agree, what is the value to the owners as a going concern, at the time the . .
Cited – Sealce Shipping Company Limited v Oceanvoice Limited CA 1991
The parties contracted for the sale of a ship, including a spare propeller. When the ship was delivered there was no spare propeller. It was common ground that there was no market for second-hand propellers. So the only way of providing a spare . .
Cited – Dominion Mosaics Limited v Trafalgar Trucking Co Limited CA 1990
The claimant’s building was destroyed by fire as a result of the defendant’s negligence. It was impracticable to rebuild and so, to keep its business going the claimant bought a 36 year lease of another building with 20% more floor space. In the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Landlord and Tenant, Agency, Torts – Other
Updated: 12 January 2022; Ref: scu.401924