Cowen v. Pressprich
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Term
192 N.Y.S. 242 (1922)
Relevant factsFree
A third party mistakenly gave one group of stock-exchange brokers (sellers, plaintiffs) the wrong railroad bond, which they unknowingly delivered through a delivery-room slot to another group of brokers (buyers, defendants); a buyers' employee, realizing the mistake, handed the bond back through the window to an unidentified messenger he mistakenly believed was the sellers' messenger, and the bond was never seen again. The sellers sued the buyers for conversion, and the lower court ruled for the sellers.
IssueFree
Whether an involuntary bailee's duty to return goods delivered by mistake is absolute, meaning that violation of the duty cannot be excused by any showing of care or good faith.