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burden of proof req.
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Conversion
2004- Tort Liability
C - 7.1
Conversion is the wrongful taking, destruction, or detention of personal property from the owner or other person entitled to its possession, or the exercise of dominion over the property inconsistent with or in defiance of the rights of that person. Conversion does not require conscious wrongdoing.

The essence of conversion is not that the wrongdoer acquired the property, but that the owner or other person entitled to its possession was wrongfully deprived of it. Any act that impairs the possessory rights of another person or any wrongful exercise or assumption of authority over the person's goods which deprives the person of possession, permanently or for an indefinite time, is a conversion. It is not important that the person who converted the property received no benefit from withholding it from the person entitled to possession.

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Paxton v. Wiebe, 1998 ND 169, 584 NW2d 72
Perry Center, Inc. v. Heitkamp, 1998 ND 78, 576 NW2d 505 (governmental immunity discussed)
Sargent County v. Wentworth, 547 NW2d 753 (ND 1996)
Napoleon Livestock Auction, Inc. v. Rohrich, 406 NW2d 346 (ND 1987) (property must be specifically
identified)
Christensen v. Farmers State Bank of Richardton, 157 NW2d 352 (ND 1968)
Hook v. Crary, 142 NW2d 140 (ND 1966)
Frank v. Schaff, 123 NW2d 827 (ND 1963)
Leach v. Kelsch, 106 NW2d 358 (ND 1960)
Taugher v. N. Pac. Ry. Co.,129 NW 747 (ND 1911)