Terrell v. Tschirn

656 So.2d 1150 (1995)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

In March of 1988, Darryl Tschirn, Jr. (P) of Metairie, Louisiana, received a 1988 Chevrolet Camaro Iroc as a high school graduation present, and title to the car was put in his name. P maintained only liability insurance on the vehicle. He installed a stereo unit in the car himself at a cost of six hundred dollars. He also put a different set of tires on the car. The sales receipt for the car was put into evidence and reflected a total cash price including tax and license of $22,489.99. On July 24, 1989, P was attending a meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. After leaving the meeting, he discovered his car was missing. P called the police and filed a report. P was contacted in August of 1990 and was informed that the police had located his stolen vehicle. The car, which had been partially dismantled, was found in Terrell's (D) possession. D owned a used car and auto salvage business in Magnolia, Pike County, Mississippi. P sued D for conversion. At trial, D testified that it was his practice to require proof of title only when he bought an automobile for resale. He did not require or even ask for a title or proof of ownership when he was buying a car for salvage. When asked how he knew whether the cars he bought for parts were not stolen D replied, 'I don't know that.' A man whose name D could not recall but which he remembered sounded Cajun, came by his place of business. The man indicated that he was in the towing business and that once he held a car for a certain length of time, he was allowed to dispose of it. He asked D if he would be willing to do business. D bought salvage vehicles from this man on approximately six occasions and paid cash for those vehicles. D stated that there were no mechanical parts to the car, the motor/transmission was all gone. The doors were gone. The hood was there, but it was damaged, and the fender and grill was primarily what I needed for the car I was working on....' Norman Sandifer testified for P. Norman said that D came by his place of business and told him he had some cars he wanted to get rid of and asked to use Sandifer's car crusher. D eventually came by with a late model Camaro on a trailer but was told to leave because with a late model car there was no paperwork and he always required papers for late model cars. Charles Chadwick, an officer with the Magnolia Police Department, also testified P that Norman called them and told him D may be coming by with his paperless car. D came along pulling a flatbed trailer carrying a 1988 Camaro. D was stopped, and he and the trailer were taken to the Sheriff's Office. The car could not be identified at that time because the VIN number had been removed from the dashboard. Curtis Newman, an investigator with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, was later able to identify the car as the one belonging to and stolen from P. D was found liable for conversion and appealed.