A fur coat owner entrusts a furrier with the coat for storage. The furrier, in the ordinary course of business, sells the coat to a buyer in good faith. The owner sues the buyer for recovery. What is the likely outcome?

• A. Yes, the buyer takes free of the owner’s claim.
• B. No, the buyer has no title against the owner because the coat was entrusted to the furrier.
• C. Yes, but only if the coat was part of the furrier’s inventory.
• D. No, unless the owner can prove conversion.

Answer: (B)

When goods are entrusted to a merchant who deals in those kinds of goods for sale, that merchant has the power to transfer the entruster’s title to a buyer in the ordinary course of business. The buyer, acting in good faith, then takes title free of the owner’s claim. In this scenario, the furrier is a merchant who sells fur coats in the ordinary course, and he sold the coat to a buyer in good faith. Because of entrustment for sale, the buyer acquires valid title that the owner cannot defeat. So the owner cannot recover the coat from the buyer. The owner’s remedy would be against the furrier for breach of the bailment or similar rights, not against the buyer.