Pearson v. Dodd
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
410 F.2d 701 (D.C. Cir. 1969)
Relevant factsFree
Former employees of Senator Thomas Dodd (plaintiff) entered his office without permission, copied documents, gave the copies to journalists Drew Pearson and Jack Anderson (defendants), and returned the originals to Dodd's office undisturbed; the journalists then published articles based on the copied information, and Dodd sued for conversion among other claims. The trial court granted Dodd summary judgment on the conversion claim, and the journalists appealed.
IssueFree
Whether copying documents and returning the originals to their owner, without impairing the owner's continued use or control of them, constitutes conversion.