Payne v. Elliot

Citations

• 54 Cal. 339

Syllabus

<p>Conversion — Trover—Action.—At common law, trover lay only for tangible property; but in our system, the action has been developed into a remedy for the conversion of every species of personal property. Held, accordingly, in an action for the conversion of shares of stock of a corporation—that it is “ the shares of stock” which constitute the property of the stockholder, and not the certificate; and that an action is maintainable for the conversion of the shares of stock which the certificate represents, as well as for that of the certificate.</p> <p>Id.—Fraud—Imprisonment.—In order to justify a judgment for the imprisonment of the defendant on the ground of fraud, the facts upon which the charge of fraud is based must be specifically alleged in the complaint; and held, that an allegation in the complaint that the defendants received personal property in a fiduciary capacity, as agents of the plaintiff, and that they were guilty of fraud in receiving and converting such property to their own use, was insufficient to sustain such a judgment.</p>