West v. Roberts

143 P.3d 1037, 2006 WL 2864648
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedOctober 10, 2006
Docket05SC358
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 143 P.3d 1037 (West v. Roberts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
West v. Roberts, 143 P.3d 1037, 2006 WL 2864648 (Colo. 2006).

Opinions

Justice BENDER

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

I. Introduction

We review on certiorari an appellate decision from the district court, which construed Colorado Revised Statute section 18-4-405. We hold that this statute, which permits the rightful owner of stolen property to recover that property from the possession of another person, does not apply when the rightful owner intends to part with the property.

Kenneth James West relinquished his car in exchange for a cashier’s check that appeared valid, but which thereafter proved to be a worthless counterfeit. When he later located the car in the possession of a subsequent purchaser, Tammy Roberts, West sued to recover the car under section 18-4-405. However, the trial court found that section 18-4-405 does not apply to situations, like this case, in which an owner voluntarily relinquishes the property, even if he is defrauded into doing so. Instead, the trial court applied Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) section 2-403, as enacted in Colorado as section 4-2-403, C.R.S. (2006). The trial court found that the UCC provision entitled Roberts, as a good faith purchaser for value, to retain ownership of the car. On appeal, the district court, acting as an appellate court, upheld the trial court’s decision.

We agree with the district court’s conclusion and hold that, although “theft” in our criminal code includes theft by deception, UCC section 2-403 abrogates section 18-4-405 so that “theft” in that provision does not include theft in which an owner voluntarily relinquishes property to a thief under a transaction of purchase.

Thus we affirm the district court and hold that Tammy Roberts, as a good faith purchaser for value, obtained good title to the car under C.R.S. section 4-2-403.

II. Facts and Proceedings Below

West agreed to sell his car, a 1975 Corvette, to a man representing himself as Rob[1039]*1039ert Wilson. In exchange for a cashier’s check, West signed over the Corvette’s title to Wilson and gave him the car. Ten days later, when West learned that the cashier’s check was a forgery, he filed a stolen vehicle report with police. However, the police did not locate Wilson or the Corvette, and the case grew cold. Nearly two and a half years later, West asked the police to run a check on the Corvette’s vehicle identification number. The cheek yielded the name and address of Tammy Roberts. Roberts, who holds certificate of title to the Corvette, had purchased the vehicle from her brother, who, in turn, had purchased it in response to a newspaper ad. West filed suit against Roberts in county court to establish legal ownership of the Corvette under Colorado’s stolen property statute, C.R.S. section lS-4^105.1

The trial court determined that the stolen property statute did not apply in this case. Instead, the court found that the UCC, specifically C.R.S. section 4-2-403, governed the transaction and that Roberts was the rightful owner.2

In reaching the conclusion that section 2-403 of the UCC applies in this case and that Roberts was the rightful owner of the Corvette, the trial court relied on Keybank Nat’l Ass’n v. Mascarenas, 17 P.3d 209 (Colo.App. 2000). In Keybank, the court of appeals held that a theft in which the owner willingly entrusts his property to another is different than “ordinary theft,” in which the owner is unaware of the taking and does not intend to part with the property. Id. at 214. The trial court found that, under the Keybank holding, theft by deception or fraud is not covered under the stolen property statute if the theft involves a transfer of goods in which the seller voluntarily parts with the goods in exchange for something else. Accordingly, the trial court held that the UCC applies in this case and that, because title can be legally transferred to a bona fide purchaser even if the transferor did not have proper authority to do so, Roberts possessed good title to the Corvette.

On appeal, the district court, acting as an appellate court, upheld the trial court’s decision on two grounds. First, the court considered whether a theft had occurred for the purposes of the stolen property statute. Citing Keybank, the court found that a theft has not taken place if, as in this ease, the owner was aware of a taking and had intended to part with the property. Thus, the court found the stolen property statute does not apply in this case. Second, the court found that the trial court correctly applied section 2-403 of the UCC. Even though the cashier’s [1040]*1040check from Wilson was later dishonored, the court held that Roberts was a bona fide purchaser and acquired a full property interest in the Corvette.

We accepted certiorari to reconcile the apparent conflict between the two statutes— section 2-403 of the UCC and the stolen property statute — and to determine which statute applies in this case.3 We first examine the stolen property statute and UCC section 2-403 and determine whether either statute applies in this case. We then reconcile the apparent conflict between the two statutes.

III. Analysis

The Stolen Property Statute

We begin by examining whether the stolen property statute applies in this case. Matters of statutory interpretation are questions of law, which we review de novo. E.g., Ryals v. St. Mary-Corwin Reg’l Med. Ctr., 10 P.3d 654, 659 (Colo.2000). When interpreting a statute, we look first to its plain language. E.g., Spahmer v. Gullette, 113 P.3d 158, 162 (Colo.2005).

The stolen property statute permits the rightful owner of stolen property to recover that property from the possession of another person. § 18-4-405, C.R.S; Cedar Lane Invs. v. Am. Roofing Supply of Colorado Springs, Inc., 919 P.2d 879, 882 (Colo.App.1996). For the stolen property statute to apply, “the owner of the property must prove that the taker ... committed acts constituting at least one of the statutory crimes” listed within the statute. Itin v. Ungar, 17 P.3d 129, 134 (Colo.2000). However, the statute itself does not define theft. Id. at 133. Because the stolen property statute is contained in the Colorado Criminal Code, terms contained in that statute may be defined within the scheme of the statutory framework. Id. The criminal code defines theft as “knowingly obtain[ing] or exercising] control over anything of value of another without authorization, or by threat or deception, and ... [i]ntend[ing] to deprive the other person permanently of the use or benefit of the thing of value.” § 18-4-401(l)(a), C.R.S. (2006) (emphasis added). Theft by deception as set forth in subsection 18-4-401(l)(a) requires proof that the victim relied on a swindler’s misrepresentations, which caused the victim to part with something of value. People v. Warner, 801 P.2d 1187, 1189-90 (Colo.1990).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
143 P.3d 1037, 2006 WL 2864648, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/west-v-roberts-colo-2006.