Chapin v. Freeland

Chapin (plaintiff) bought a shop building at a foreclosure sale; Freeland (defendant), the true original owner of counters installed in the shop by one of Chapin's predecessors, later removed the counters. By the time Chapin sued Freeland in replevin to get the counters back, Massachusetts's six-year statute of limitations on replevin actions had already run before Chapin even took possession of the shop. The trial court held that although the limitations period would have barred Freeland from suing Chapin's predecessor, it did not extinguish Freeland's underlying title, so Freeland could lawfully retake the counters through self-help and defeat Chapin's replevin claim.