Porter v. Wertz
New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department
68 A.D.2d 141 (1979)
Porter (plaintiff) loaned his Utrillo painting to Von Maker to consider buying it, under an agreement that the painting remained Porter's; Von Maker, using the name of a real deli worker named Peter Wertz, sold the painting to art dealer Feigen (defendant), whose employee then resold it, all without anyone checking whether Wertz -- who was not an art dealer -- actually had authority to sell it. Porter sued to recover the painting or its value, and the trial court rejected statutory estoppel but held equitable estoppel barred Porter's suit, dismissing the complaint.
Whether a buyer of goods may assert statutory entrustment estoppel without being a buyer in the ordinary course of business, and whether an owner is equitably estopped from denying a vendor's title where the owner gave the vendor no indicia of ownership or apparent authority to sell.