How to Recover a Stolen Super Bowl Ring

[GuynHawaii]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: California

My Super Bowl ring was stolen in 2000 in Hawaii and I have the police report. My ring surfaced at an auction house in San Diego. The house sold it for $21,000 in 2012. I do not know if the auction house knew it was stolen or not but the house did not attempt to contact me to verify (I am easily located via web search). Anyone know how I can get my ring back?

[flyingron]

Well, I wouldn't go in their brandishing firearms like OJ did.

Did you file a police report at the time it was stolen? Did you contact the auction house to find the identity of the buyer? I would call both the police department where it was stolen and in the city that the current possessor appears to be located.

You probably can recover the ring, but time if of the essence (especially if you knew it surfaced in an auction house two years ago).

[Mr. Knowitall]

If it were me, I would contact the auction house and explain that I just learned that they sold my stolen ring, and indicate to them that I would like them to help me recover the ring, perhaps by buying the ring back from the seller.

(1) A purchaser of goods acquires all title which his transferor had or had power to transfer except that a purchaser of a limited interest acquires rights only to the extent of the interest purchased. A person with voidable title has power to transfer a good title to a good faith purchaser for value. When goods have been delivered under a transaction of purchase the purchaser has such power even though

(a) The transferor was deceived as to the identity of the purchaser, or

(b) The delivery was in exchange for a check which is later dishonored, or

(c) It was agreed that the transaction was to be a "cash sale," or

(d) The delivery was procured through fraud punishable as larcenous under the criminal law.

(2) Any entrusting of possession of goods to a merchant who deals in goods of that kind gives him power to transfer all rights of the entruster to a buyer in ordinary course of business.

(3) "Entrusting" includes any delivery and any acquiescence in retention of possession for the purpose of sale, obtaining offers to purchase, locating a buyer, or the like; regardless of any condition expressed between the parties to the delivery or acquiescence and regardless of whether the procurement of the entrusting or the possessor's disposition of the goods have been such as to be larcenous under the criminal law.

(4) The rights of other purchasers of goods and of lien creditors are governed by the divisions on secured transactions (Division 9), bulk transfers (Division 6) and documents of title (Division 7).

For an explanation of what that means, see this unpublished case.

California law distinguishes between the person who purchased from someone who obtained title to the property by fraud and the person who purchased from a thief who had no title to sell. An involuntary transfer results in void title, while a voluntary transfer, even if fraudulent, results in voidable title. (Cal. U. Com. Code, § 2403, subd. (1);^[4] Suburban Motors, Inc. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. (1990) 218 Cal.App.3d 1354, 1360-1361.) "As a general rule, an innocent purchaser for value and without actual or constructive notice that [the] vendor has secured the goods by a fraudulent purchase is not liable for conversion." (5 Witkin, Summary of Cal. Law (10th ed. 2005) Torts, § 716, p. 1040.) However, the rule is different when it comes to involuntary transfers: because "[s]tolen property remains stolen property," a thief "cannot convey valid title to an innocent purchaser of stolen property." (Naftzger v. American Numismatic Society (1996) 42 Cal.App.4th 421, 432.)

It's not an area of law I follow closely, but I see nothing that changes the long-standing rule in California that "where an auctioneer sells stolen property at auction in good faith and without knowing that it is stolen he is nonetheless liable to the true owner for the value of the property." If it were me, I would contact the auction house and indicate that I would like them to try to recover the stolen ring from the purchaser and, if that failed, I would consider litigating to obtain information about the buyer and hope that he's in a jurisdiction where a good faith purchase at auction won't insulate him from an attempt to recover the property. Given the value of the ring, actual and sentimental, I would consider making this effort through a lawyer.

flyingron is correct that, now that you have identified the sale, the statute of limitations is running. Also, statutes of limitation are different in each state, so if the ring is not presently in California you could be facing a jurisdiction with a less friendly statute of limitations, so don't wait to act.

[GuynHawaii]

Mahalo. Appreciate the advice. Will move on it and let you know the outcome. Aloha