Walter E. Olsen v. Bert Yearsley

Summary

This 1908 Supreme Court case involved competing claims to ownership of a National Cash Register. Myer Harris sold the register to Louis Heymann under a conditional sale arrangement where title would not pass until full payment. When Heymann could not complete payment, he returned the register to Harris, who then sold it to Carl Hess, who subsequently sold it to plaintiff Olsen. Meanwhile, the register remained in business premises that were successively transferred, ultimately reaching defendant Yearsley, who purchased in good faith without knowledge of the competing claims. The Court of First Instance awarded possession to plaintiff but allowed defendant to retain the register upon payment. The Supreme Court reversed this qualification, holding that while Yearsley was a good faith purchaser, he bought from someone who was not the true owner and had knowledge of the true ownership. Therefore, Article 1473 of the Civil Code, which protects good faith purchasers, did not apply. The decision established that good faith purchase protection requires purchasing from the actual owner, not merely purchasing without knowledge of competing claims.