Conversion - Definition - Law Dictionary Home Dictionary Definition conversion

Definition :

Conversion, with its grammatical variations, includes alteration or change of whatever nature. [Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 (42 of 1991), s. 2 (b)]

--Where a man who is, lawfully or unlawfully, in possession of the goods of another deals with them in a manner which is inconsistent with the dominion of the owner over them, he is guilty of a conversion. It must be 'an unauthorized act which deprives another of his property permanently or for an indefinite time', Hiort v. Bott, (1874) LR 9 Ex 89. The taking possession of the goods of another is a trespass, as distinct from a conversion, though the latter term is often used to include both. Refusal to restore the goods is prima facie sufficient evidence of a conversion, though it does not amount to a conversion, 10 Rep. 56. See Fouldes v. Willoughby, (1841) 8 M&W 540; Hollins v. Fowler, (1875) LR 7 HL 757; Union Credit Bank Cases, (1899) 2 QB 205; Clerk and Lindsell on Torts, 7th ed., ch. xi.; and TROVER.