The first element that must be established is that the plaintiff must have an immediate right to possess the goods at the time they were allegedly converted.
Conversion Claims-Cash
Sometimes money is the subject of the conversion. A plaintiff suing on a conversion theory has to demonstrate a property or ownership interest in the specified funds. Government of Rwanda v. Rwanda Working Group, 227 F.Supp.2d 45, 62 (D.D.C. 2002)
Typically the plaintiff has to allege a specific and definite sum that is capable of identification. Where the plaintiff’s right is merely to an indeterminate sum of money, that probably means that a conversion claim has not been properly pled. Sutherland v. O’Malley, 882 F.2d 1196, 1200 (7th Cir. 1989); Gasparini v. Pordomingo, 972 So. 2d 1053, 1056 (Fla. 2008)
Overall it seems that claims of conversion probably have limited application to claims involving cash.
In addition, a conversion claim typically is brought as part of a tort action. If however the conversion is founded upon a contract, then the claim may fail for that reason. If it is a contract that sets forth certain duties that may be owed i.e., to deposit money or to hold money in trust and there is a violation of those duties, that violation is a violation of contract. It does not necessarily give rise to a tort claim.
Call, or contact us for a free consult. Also for more info on successor liability see the Wikipedia pages. Also see the post on this site dealing with contract issues.
