Rowland v Divall [1923] 2 KB 500

The claimant, a car dealer, bought a car from the defendant for £334. He painted the car and put it in his showroom and sold it to a customer for £400. Two months later the car was impounded by the police as it had been stolen. It was then returned to the original owner. Both the claimant and defendant were unaware that the car had been stolen. The claimant returned the £400 to the customer and brought a claim against the defendant under the Sale of Goods Act.

Held:

The defendant did not have the right to sell the goods as he did not obtain good title from the thief. Ownership remained with the original owner. The defendant had 2 months use of the car which he did not have to pay for and the claimant was not entitled to any compensation for the work carried out on the car.

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