A cause of action for conversion may exist for many types of personal property, such as: automobiles, water crafts, intangible interests, in a business venture, and jewelry. An action for conversion also extends to such products as cotton, fruit, logs, and lumber. Additionally, although airline tickets represent a service, they are capable of individual ownership and are sufficiently identifiable to be converted by a defendant.

A plaintiff should consult with an experienced West Palm Beach conversion lawyer prior to initiating an action for conversion. The West Palm Beach conversion lawyer will advise a plaintiff that under Florida law, a plaintiff may assert a claim for conversion where a defendant has wrongfully taken personal property or intangible interest in a business venture. However, in order for an intangible business interest to be actionable for conversion, the business interest must confer some type of ownership on the plaintiff sufficient to support a claim for conversion against the defendant. For example, a graduate student's alleged copyright in a journal article failed to confer ownership on the student of underlying research or discovery as required under Florida law to support a claim that the university converted research and discovery to its own use, and the ideas were substantively excluded from the subject matter of a copyright.

Moreover, a plaintiff damaged by a defendant that misappropriated the plaintiff's business opportunity may maintain an action for conversion. Accordingly, under Florida law, misappropriation of a business opportunity constitutes conversion.

A cause of action for conversion may have many complex issues. Therefore, you should consult with an experienced West Palm Beach conversion lawyer. Call Sharmin & Sharmin P.A. at 1-800-74-TRIAL.