Payne v. TK Auto Wholesalers
Appellate Court of Connecticut
911 A.2d 747 (2006)
Using his cousin Paul Payne's stolen identifying documents and $3,000 in stolen cash, the plaintiff posed as Payne to buy a car from a dealership operated by TK Auto Wholesalers (defendant), providing Payne's driver's license and paying $1,300 as a down payment despite the dealership employee noticing the photo mismatch; after the real Payne learned of the identity theft and alerted police, the plaintiff was arrested when he returned to pick up the car and was convicted of identity theft, forgery, and attempted larceny. The plaintiff then sued the dealership for the $1,300 plus $9 million in punitive damages, but the trial court dismissed for lack of standing, finding he had no possessory interest in the stolen money; he appealed after his motion to reopen was denied.
Whether a thief who uses stolen money to make a payment to a third party retains a legally protected possessory interest in that money sufficient to sue the third party for its return when the third party keeps the money without providing the promised goods.