27 Wash. 89 | Wash. | 1901
The opinion of the court was delivered by
The appellant sought by this action-to recover from the respondent the possession of certain personal property. In the complaint it alleged that it was on a date named therein the owner of the property;, that the respondent had on that date wrongfully and without its consent taken the property from its possession, and had since wrongfully detained the same; that it had, prior to the commencement of the action, demanded of respondent the possession of the property, which demand was refused; and that the property was of a certain value. The respondent, answering, admitted the ownership of the appellant, and that it was in possession of the property, but denied that it came into the possession wrongfully, or that it wrongfully detained the property, or that the appellant had ever demanded the possession of the property from it. For a further and separate answer, it alleged that it was, as a part of its business, engaged in conducting a warehouse in which goods were
Counsel for the appellant argue that'the respondent, hy admitting the appellant’s title to the property and pleading a special interest in itself therein took upon itself the burden of proving its possession of the property to he rightful, and hence the proofs made a prima facie case, on which it was entitled to judgment in the absence of a contrary showing. This reasoning, it seems to us, overlooks the purpose and nature of an action of claim and delivery under the Code. The primary purpose of such an action is to recover personal property in specie; it is to enable the plaintiff to obtain possession of property wrongfully detained from him by the defendant at the time of the commencement of the action. It originates in wrong, and can he maintained only upon allegations and proofs of wrong. As the title to personal property may he in one person, and the right of possession in another, the question of the right of possession is always an issue, while the question of title may or may not he. It is necessary, therefore, for a plaintiff, in order to state a cause of action for claim and delivery to plead right of
The judgment is affirmed.
Reavis, C. J., and Dunbar, Anders and Mount, JJ., concur.