Menzel v. List
Court of Appeals of New York
246 N.E.2d 742 (1969)
Erna Menzel (plaintiff) and her husband fled Belgium in 1940, leaving behind a Marc Chagall painting later removed by German authorities. In 1955 a Parisian gallery sold the painting to Klaus Perls and his wife (defendants), who didn't ask about its title history; the Perlses resold it to Albert List (defendant) for $4,000. Menzel found the painting in 1962 and demanded its return; when List refused, she sued him in replevin. List brought in the Perlses, claiming they breached an implied warranty of title. The jury ordered the painting returned to Menzel and awarded List $22,500 against the Perlses — the painting's present value — but the appellate division cut that to just the $4,000 List had originally paid.
Whether the general rule of contract damages is that the injured party should, if possible, be placed in as good a position as he would have been in had the contract been performed.