Question

Ali goes to a shop that sells antique goods and decides to purchase an antique table fan. He pays for it cash. Since the fan is dirty, the shopkeeper (Ahmad) tells him to collect the fan after an hour because he wants to clean it. So Ali goes to a nearby shop for lunch. After Ahmad had cleaned the fan, he too goes out for lunch. In his absence, Julie takes charge of the shop. Sam walks into the shop and sees the same fan and decides to purchase it. Julie, who is unaware of the earlier sale, sells it to Sam. Sam pays for it cash and takes it away.

In this situation, who gets a better title and why?

Answer 1

Ali has the stronger legal claim to the antique fan because he was the first to purchase it and intended to return for it after it was cleaned, constituting a bailment. However, if Sam purchased it in good faith, he might be protected under certain laws. Ali would likely need to seek a remedy from the shopkeeper or Julie for the mistaken sale.

Step-by-step explanation:

The scenario presented involves a dispute of title over the antique fan which was sold twice, once to Ali and then subsequently to Sam. Under typical legal principles, once Ali completed the purchase of the fan by paying for it, he obtained ownership of the fan, even though he allowed the shopkeeper Ahmad to keep it for a short while longer to clean it. This means that the sale to Sam should be void because Ahmad no longer had the legal right or ownership to sell the fan again.

Since Ali was the first buyer and had completed the transaction with the intention of returning for his property, the shopkeeper Ahmad's agreement to clean the fan can be viewed as a type of bailment, where the bailor (Ali) temporarily transfers possession but not ownership of his property to the bailee (Ahmad) for a specific purpose. When Julie, unaware of this, sold the fan to Sam, she did so without legal authority, as the ownership rested with Ali and not the shop.

Therefore, based on these assumptions, Ali would typically have a stronger legal claim to the antique fan. However, in some jurisdictions, if Sam purchased the fan in good faith without knowledge of the previous sale, he might be protected under certain laws. Ali’s recourse would then potentially involve seeking a remedy from Ahmad or Julie for the mistaken sale, such as a return of the purchase price or damages.